


Souls of Vale

by Soulremnant



Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Military, F/F, Military
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-25
Updated: 2017-09-10
Packaged: 2018-06-10 15:24:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 30,633
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6962437
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Soulremnant/pseuds/Soulremnant
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This takes place after the second seasons events,  the events of the third season are not in this timeline. If you do end up liking this, spread the word! Publicity helps! Please feel free to comment your thoughts. Premise: Having been forced to graduate Beacon Academy ahead of time due to rapidly increasing conflicts throughout the kingdoms of Remnant, team RWBY and elements of team JNPR have been recruited into what is essentially a private military, the Sentinels of Remnant, to address the growing insurgencies. Strong ties with each other as well as developing emotions will give the girls of team RWBY the necessary strength to take on those who would see the kingdoms torn apart.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Remnant: Prologue + Chapter 1

  **Souls of Vale**

 

     

      " _Mankind has grown fond of recounting the exploits of_

_heroes and villains, forgetting so easily that we are remnants,_

_byproducts, of a forgotten past_ ” 

 

 

                                                           

 

 

 

 

 

 

Prologue:

            Darkness permeated the alley, the smell of waste assaulting the senses while the shadows danced along the walkway. Gravel crunched underneath as the shadowy figure walked on towards her destination. Lamps lined the decrepit buildings; graffiti depicting the kingdoms figureheads lined with obscene words adorned the grey and decaying walls. The alley seemed to be coated with a layer of grime. She shuddered in disgust as she passed one after another. The sound of crowds back on the main street rang even here, giving the place the only non-creepy sound that could be heard. The alley gave off a twisted atmosphere, in an ominous and dangerous sort of way. At least, dangerous for those who couldn’t survive the streets with their own strength. It was always dangerous at night in the world of Remnant, and the dark alleys of the city of Vacuo were no different than out in the wilds, than in its alleys and battered down edges. Well, there being no damned Grimm to jump out at her was the only difference, she mused. She turned right into a lot that was supposed to be abandoned. Supposed to. There was a jet black van with tinted windows parked on its edge.  Ironically, made to not stand out, it was completely standing out. She walked towards the side of the vehicle, and standing by the van’s open door, waiting by a crate was her contact, who went by the name Keyn. It was most certainly an alias, but, in this organization that was nothing new. With enemies on all sides and the kingdom’s Special Forces hunting them both in and outside the city, the White Fang knew better than to carelessly wander where they might be, unwelcome.

            “Keyn, I assume you have the shipments?” She said, all business and straight to the point. She had no time for useless pleasantries. Keyn looked up from his feeble attempts at lighting the cigarette he had pulled out of his coat.

“I do” came gruffly.

“I’ll take charge of it then. Leader wants to make sure it reaches Vale intact, and within the week. The Schnee Security branch has become a pain in the tail ever since we hit that train shipment outside Vacuo, so this will be the last shipment from here for a while, until we can do something about those pests.” The Schnee Dust Company was one of the biggest suppliers of Dust energy in the world, and raiding their resources took careful planning, the security they employed was serious, and lately it had become even more dangerous.

“Yeah yeah, this is the last of the Dust from the warehouse. The anti-material rifles are loaded on trucks ready to ship out. Those I have to be more careful with, its’ my ass if the Valesian military catches me with their prototype armaments. Arming several battalions is such a pain in the ass. Say, you haven’t heard anything about those rumors coming out of Mistral have you?”

“Rumors?”

“Yeah, I heard from a guy on the Airship docks that one of the bases on the western reaches of Mistral, the one hidden and heavily protected in the Nocturnal Valley, even against Grimm, was taken by surprise.” He gave her a grave look.

“The curious thing is, it’s said that it was a single person. A “demon”, with fiery eyes that burned into your mind, long golden hair that blazed in the moonlight. They say it blew buildings apart, and shrugged off the blows that she took like they were bad jokes.” He chuckled, “of course, that’s just what they say.” He tried lighting the blasted cigarette again.

“That, is ridiculous, a single person, taking out the entire Titan stronghold? Even Hunters would have trouble with that base, and the amount of Dust and heavy weapons required for that would’ve taken hundreds of Valesian Soldiers. It’s almost certain that the Hunters and Huntresses have had no clue about our doings, and Vale hasn’t caught onto our presence in their territory yet, but I’ll look into these preposterous rumors when I arrive back at headquarters.” She said in annoyance.

He grinned “as you say ma’am.”

           After confirming everything was in order, she headed back to the hotel she was occupying for the time being. Ridiculous, she thought. We are on the verge of the largest coup in centuries and we have people concerned that a single person, or thing, took out a base, as if such a thing was possible. No, she shook her head, it most certainly wasn’t. In a weeks’ time however, such false rumors would be the last thing on people’s minds. Not when war was on the horizon.

“Hey you! You’re not allowed here this time of night!” someone shouted from behind. She spun around. It was a police officer.

“You can’t be here lady, the Schnee Company owns these premises, and this area is off limits after six. Come with me to the station please, I need to know what you’re doing here.” He approached her cautiously, taking out a baton.

“Ah damn, I’ve been seen,” she said sarcastically. Well, she did have time for a little fun. She gave a feral grin, fingering the concealed blade in her jacket. She flashed toward the officer, and before he could blink, slid her blade in between his ribs. With a look of shock, he slid towards the ground. Dragging him, she left him leaning against the wall. At the rate he was losing blood, he would not survive the night.

“You were in the wrong place at the wrong time buddy,” she said with a smile, and leaned down to kiss his pale cheek. She would enjoy the coming days, she would enjoy them very much. Licking her ruby lips, she disappeared back into the darkness. Vale awaited.

 

 

 

 

 

     Chapter One: The Red Eyed Demon    

               _Click_. The sound of shells being loaded resounded in the compartment. The whole room shook as the Command Airship _Aurora of Remnant_ moved towards its target. The lone person in the room was equipping the safety harnesses on her sleek dark gold combat suit. Lined with military grade fibers and metals as well as self-regenerating nanotech, the nanosuit was made for a single Hunter or Huntress to be able to take a pounding, all the while maximizing their combat capability and ammunition reserves. This particular Huntress needed more ammunition than most. Pouches filled to the brim with explosive and heat rounds, this suit seemed like a typical combat personal bodysuit. However, it was specifically tailored for one.

             The earpiece she wore sounded, and the voice of Commander Erben boomed out. “Specialist Long, we are approaching the drop zone. Tactical estimates the base to have an estimated 450 personnel, more than half ground troops and mechanized support. We ask you to try and limit energy usage, but complete the mission to heavily impair their capability to fight. If you find any officers, take them out. Your use of the APG has been authorized. Happy hunting. Oh and Yang? Keep your head down for Pete’s sake.” You could almost hear his sigh.

          She groaned, kicking a can in the deployment bay. He would never let that go. Running right into an enemy infested room and taking a rocket to the face was not how she had planned that day. Dud or not, it had hurt. Though admittedly a bruise was preferable to a head blown clean off. Thankfully she threw up her aura fast enough to negate the most of the damage.

         “I wish you would quit mentioning that, old man, it was only once.”  She hated having restraints placed on energy for combat, which meant she had to use her heat rounds wisely. Blowing everything in sight up was so much more fun. “Fine, I’ll play nice. But you’re not getting the base intact, just saying.” She was excited at being able to use their new little toy however. She adjusted an odd looking pair of golden bracelets adorning both of her wrists.

          She smashed her fists together “I’m so ready for this. Activate! Ember Celica!”

          Golden energy pulsed around her like an aura, and the bracelets adorning her wrists, suddenly extended. With a whirring sound, the bracelets seem to transform, covering her entire forearms with multi-plated arm gauntlets. On the underside, shell cartridge slots were clearly visible. These were her weapons of choice, and her deadliest arsenal. The Ember Celica Dual Ranged Shot Gauntlets. Shooting a maximum of 12 high explosive rounds or heat rounds each, using them in tandem with her close combat abilities gave her the destructive force of a tank. And Specialist Long did so like her close combat moments.

         “Ha! They don’t stand a chance, lock n’ load!” she roared ecstatically. Pulling her arm back with a jerking movement, she loaded a shell into her gauntlets firing chamber. Getting herself into combat mode, she went down to the airships drop bays, where she would get the clear to jump. The loading doors were already open, ready to deliver the ships payload. Surrounding the target, she could see much of the country side, forests that seem to spread on and on, mountains a ways off in the distance that dominated the horizon. It was a shame this location was about to burn. After all, the target was the latest stronghold of these rebels in south western Mistral that had been found.

        Months of hunting these guerillas and they hadn’t come close to finding any main bases of operation, or come closer to finding out their plans. Oh they knew their goals: the rebels wanted the down fall of the kingdom of Vale, but as to the reasons why, and if they were only a threat to Vale, that remained unclear. They were secretive enough that the Valesian military hadn’t seen fit to take any action. Only her organization, Sentinels of Remnant, a private military combine that had recruited them straight after graduating Beacon, saw them as the threat they represented. This both excited and infuriated her. On the one hand, she got to fight. On the other, she thought they were doing all the work.

      She sighed. Well at least after this she would be able to get back to Vale, where her cute little sister was waiting, she thought. The idea made her excited and eager to get the operation under way.

     “Yang,” a voice called from behind, barely discernable over the sound of the rushing wind. She swung around, coming face to face with Commander Erben.

     “This is a surprise, you don’t usually wish me off” she grinned, but her smile dimmed when she saw the look on his face.

   “What’s with the serious look? This is a routine smash and grab, we’ve done this before, incapacitate the enemy with minimum casualties, while maximizing damage to their infrastructure, you know, text book”

    “I’m sorry Yang, this time it’s different,” he looked very unhappy as the words flowed out. “TacOps Command is tired of being hit in the outer provinces where we can barely protect the villages, they want you” he paused “to hit the rebels hard this time. Your restraints against casualties have been removed, and you have been commanded to engage in all out combat with the enemy troops”

    Yang stared. Ever since she was placed in the vanguard against the rebels, High Command had stressed trying to take as many prisoners as possible. They were still Vale citizens, they insisted. And she agreed, she did not like to kill, it often gave her nightmares, but she did what she had to. Releasing the restraints on her combat protocols meant they were pretty much giving up on bringing the rebels back peacefully.

    “I see. Thank you Erben, for telling me this yourself,” she whispered.

    “I didn’t want it to come to this Yang, but the council agrees that too many have died in these terrorist attacks and in the smaller villages, and being lenient has gotten us nowhere. Stars guide you.” he said in a low voice, then did an about face, and headed back toward the bridge.

Yang felt unnerved, but she was trained for this. Setting aside her emotion and executing the mission took priority. She could sort it all out later.

     The airman standing by the bay doors signaled her with a thumbs up. She clicked her mike “Specialist Yang Xiao Long, heading out!” she jumped.

     She loved the feeling of jumping out of an airship, and the resulting free fall, she felt like she could actually soar, it was a freedom that was very difficult to find anywhere else. Down below, a mountain loomed over the fortress that was the rebel base. High walls camouflaged with vines and green paint to blend into the greenery of the mountain coated the base, with small towers at sections of the base, most likely lookout towers lining the perimeter. What looked like a barracks to its east, core buildings in the center and an airship bay were crowded with personnel scrambling to their stations.

     “A little too slow there,” she chuckled. They hadn’t gotten to any anti air weaponry in time to target them, and a single person dropping, was a much smaller target. After a few seconds, she was in range. Pulling her arm back, she let loose a series of punches. The air in front of her rocked with explosions each time her fists swung. The Dual Shot Gauntlets let loose their explosive shells. That was the way Ember Celica worked: explosive rounds shot out of her fist with every punch.

     Explosions blew apart the buildings and vehicles where she aimed, a torrent of fire followed her shots. She could hear the screams of those caught in the blasts, but paid them no mind. They knew the risks after all. She slowed her descent with her suits propulsion. Once on the ground, she took a good look around her. There was a couple of burning office buildings and tents, a few blazing vehicles that were mostly in pieces, a few dead. Not much damage done, she thought. But that could be easily rectified. The adrenaline of combat was one thing that got to every fighter, whether or not they were eager for combat. She smiled savagely.

“Guess it’s time to play with this fun toy.” She pressed a button on her belt. “ _Aura Particle Generator initializing, defensive particle field, deploying_ ” boomed a synthesized voice. A spherical shaped dust cloud began to shimmer around her.

“Sorry boys, I don’t think you have a weapon that can pierce this,” she said with a lopsided grin. The Aura Particle Generator, or APG, was a marvel of Sentinel engineering. Enabling the protection the hunter’s aura provided to extend outward, and be strengthened almost a hundredfold into an almost impervious shield for short bursts of time, the wearer could now absorb huge amounts of damage in the middle of daunting fights. Allowing a single person to engage an enemy against huge odds, the user could attack through the shield outward, while it blocked anything coming in. Its only drawback was that the Particle Field that blocked attacks only lasted very short segments of time, because it drained the users’ aura in heavy amounts, forcing the user to use it more strategically. It was however, more than sufficient to take out this regiment she faced. Engaging the nearest group of soldiers, Yang dived into combat. Bullets whizzed by her, ricocheting off the strewn debris that littered the entrance of the stronghold, those she could not dodge, the light particle field she had deployed absorbed or deflected. A quick salvo of punches and one soldier disappeared in a fiery inferno, another, severely burned. All around, cries of the dead or dying sing a duet with the sounds of battle. She sped from side to side, slamming her foot into the gut of one soldier, sending him flying backwards slamming into a wall. Bringing her fist to bear on the torso of another, she fired a heat round, piercing right through his chest. Blood seemed to saturate the ground, Yang ignored it, she was already on the verge of freezing from so much death. She hated it, but she was determined to continue.  Discharging all of her gauntlets remaining explosive shells into the enemy group took mere seconds, but it killed a score of them. Acrid smoke and blistering heat dominated her surroundings. She felt a twinge of regret for not bringing her suits helmet. Closing the distance on the next soldier, she swung out. While not having auras like Hunters and Huntresses did, most soldiers did have Dust dampening body armor that helped deflect hits. These were made of tougher stuff, so she had to put in a little more force behind each swing. Smashing into his gut, he doubled over, following up on his gasp of pain, she delivered a round house kick that launched him into the nearest building. Almost immediately a large blade descended toward her head from her front, and Yang rolled to the side, barely dodging a cut by another soldier’s massive saber. The female soldier grinned thinking she had made her halt, her face flushed while blood ran freely down her cheek. Yang dodged the claymore on its next swing, retaliating by smashing into her head with the force of a truck and into the soldier’s nearest companion. Slowly, it was becoming a death field. Launching explosive rounds at their feet she forced them back, and by standing still, then turning off her APG, she caused the remaining soldiers to pause.

     Taking a deep breath, coughing slightly after breathing in some smoke, she shouted “Rebels, you have once chance: surrender, do not attack and you will not be harmed. I tell you this now, you cannot win. Don’t throw away your lives. This is your only chance.”

     The surviving soldiers looked at each other with confusion and fear. Who was this golden haired demon, to attack them, slaughter their companions, and then demand their surrender?

    “How dare you! You have no right kill our brothers then demand we stand down! Who do you think you are?!” The leader of this group shouted angrily.

    Yang gave him a cold smile, her red eyes blazing, “Oh don’t pretend you’re not part of the rebellion. Your group murders countless innocents in the outlying villages in Vale as part of threats against the government, bombing industrial and cultural centers to make yourself known. I will crush murderers if I have to, but I prefer not to kill hundreds without asking that they not force me to, don’t continue this pointless waste of life. We, are the Sentinels of Remnant. We will not allow you to annihilate the only safe havens against the darkness in the world. Surrender.”

    Red faced, the leader gave her a hate filled look, “You Hunters think you’re all saviors, never caring that you only protect those with privilege while the poor and those who you deem lesser suffer and die at the Council’s whim. I refuse to kneel in surrender to you!” he roared, swinging his rifle toward her, at the same time as his surviving companions did the same.

   “Such a shame,” she muttered, and activating her shield, she rocketed towards them with inhuman speed. In a matter of minutes, it was over.

 

   Mopping up was a rather unpleasant business, but it invariably came with every mission. There were enemy units injured, incapacitated, or otherwise lying in wait for any opportunity to lash out, even if it was too late.

      “They should just give up already, there’s no point if they’ve already lost” grumbled Yang. Roaming through the rubble and searching through the rest of the buildings, she and the clean-up squad that had landed after she signaled them carefully sifted through each area, to make sure none of the enemy was still willing to fight.

     “Ugh, I want some food. Maybe juice. Hmm, maybe Blake would buy me a soda! Though, I do kinda still owe her a couple of bills from the last time she bought me food. Heh” she laughed ruefully. Wishing for the simple pleasures of home, she didn’t notice the soldier inching forward on the ground next to the charred remains of a vehicle, to her far right, or when he took aim. As she finally gazed in his direction, the twitch of movement drawing her attention, her eyes widened in alarm. The thundering sound of a rifle round became the world.


	2. Chapter 2: The Big Bad (and Worried) Kitty

Chapter 2: The Big Bad (and Worried) Kitty

 

 

 

      Back on the circling transport, Blake Belladonna paced back and forth, worry emanating from her in waves. “Yang is always so reckless, she needs to learn to approach more carefully, I mean honestly…” she muttered. It sounded like she wanted to scold her battle hungry companion, but in reality it was just a combination of anxiety and restlessness that had her unhappy. She was always worried for her teammates, but lately Yang had been taking up more of that spot light. Blake swore it was because she was the most reckless.  

 “Why can’t she be more like Ruby, at least _she_ tries to think about how to approach an area without alerting the entire army. Admittedly that goes out the window the minute she uses her sniper rifle, but still,”

     “It’s precisely because Yang charges in to the entire enemy force that we use her as a shock troop element. There are some situations that call for overkill, with what is essentially a pissed off tank on two legs,” supplied Commander Erben as he entered the briefing room where Blake was still agitated and pacing. 

    “I know you’re worried, but we just got word that she’s finished mop up operations with the rest of the Sentinel clean up squad. Thanks to her, capturing the attention of the enemy so wholeheartedly, we had very minor casualties” Blake sighed audibly. “However,” she froze at those words, “there was an incident during the mop up. One of the injured enemy soldiers managed to catch her off guard. She sustained a leg wound. It’s a surface graze, but she’s fine, Blake!” he quickly added, seeing her expression.

    The anxiety Blake felt coursing through her body was startling. Why am I so nervous? She thought confusedly. It should be the relief of a teammate safe after a mission, but, it wasn’t.

Before Blake could continue the confusing thought, the intercom sounded.

     “Commander, Specialist Yang’s Squad is ready for extraction and has signaled the all clear at the LZ.”

     “Roger that pilot, send out the Hellions to grab them and tell the crew to get ready to pull out.”

     The Hellions were the Sentinels heavy transport ships, specifically with the role of extracting squads under fire. Though a more common helicopter might have done the job, Commander Erben left nothing to chance when it came to his squads.

     The Sentinels of Remnant was a Private Military Organization, whereas most would associate the PMOs with mercenaries, the Sentinels were a bit more exclusive. Serving as the scalpel of the kingdoms of Remnant, they were the ones who were given leave and funds to seek out and destroy the as of now threats to all kingdoms. Threats, meaning insurgents that had rebelled against the kingdom, Grimm, and the White Fang that had helped orchestrate the Grimm Surge. They were not however, extensions of the militaries. The kingdom militaries were deployed in their respective territories after the Grimm horde that had surged up from beneath Vale a few years ago caused the governments of each kingdom to go into a panic, giving an “every man for himself” attitude. It was at that point that the Sentinels were organized. Created by men, women, and Faunus who believed the stability and safety of the people were of the highest priority, while the kingdom militaries flopped. They kept the general military ranks, corporal, sergeant, captain, and so on, with a few special ranks included. All in all, the Sentinels numbered about a thousand strong, consisting of several search and destroy platoons, support squads, and so on. It was rather well organized, the only drawback was the amount of “shock troops”. After the attack on Vale, each kingdom hoarded its retinues of Hunters and Huntresses. Only a few managed to leave the cities and join the group, Team RWBY and Jaune, Pyrrha, Nora and Ren from team JNPR being the only ones from Vale. Among the Sentinels, they could only muster approximately twenty Hunters and Huntresses. Twenty, out of the total hundreds from the four kingdoms.

     Given specialist ranks, each was quickly pulled into the fold and placed in positions where their talents optimized the efficiency of the Sentinels. Yang, Pyrrha, and Nora were the premier shock troops and vanguard of the bunch, while Weiss, Ruby, Ren and Blake were placed in stealth and reconnaissance missions, occasionally serving as backup on the front lines when some of the core hunters were in dire need of help.

     The other hunters, the few that managed to be pulled from Mistral, Atlas, and Vacuo, were in mostly incursion missions and supply, the former involving breaching enemy territory and exposing weak points once found, and the latter ensuring the supply ships were not raided.

     Musing over the complexities of the military, Commander Erben was startled when Blake marched right up to him.

    “Let me command the extraction Helos, I want to be there to oversee their return,” she said with a strange look.

     He stared with a furrowed brow. It was unusual for Specialist Blake to make such a request. This wasn’t the first mission where the Specialist Yang was used to spearhead the assault, but this certainly was the first where Blake was so concerned about her friend to the point of demanding to be given command of the extraction. While curious, Erben did not see any reason not to allow it, the girl was mildly injured after all. After a few seconds of wondering, he nodded.

“You may take command Specialist Belladonna. Do try to control yourself however, go in, get them out, and come home.”

     Blake Saluted. “Yes sir”. Giving an about face, she headed immediately for the Hellion launch bay. They were quite impressive in size, what they lacked for in fire power they made up for in their Aurelium alloy armor. The armor was incredibly durable against conventional weapons, and it provided reasonable defense against anti air fire. Created by some of the best engineers in the Sentinels, the organization coveted their ability to tinker with metals and tech to make up for the dropping funds.

   Sliding the door open, Blake stepped on to the Hellion. The startled pilot turned. “Howdy Blake! Nice to see you, glad to see you’re riding Air Jordan” he said with a grin. Jordan was a friendly fellow that managed to charm the socks off everyone on the ship, and he was one of the best pilots in the group, unmatched in his ability to get where he needed to be even under enemy anti air fire. People called him a walking lucky charm.

    “Good to see you Jordan,” Blake gave a terse smile. She clicked her mic that she had set to the frequency of the two other pilots of the extraction squadron as well as flight control.

“Alright guys, check your fuel and instruments, I don’t want any screw ups. Control, open bay doors, extraction squadron Gold is getting ready to launch.”

She couldn’t see, but the crew of the Hellions looked at each other with mild concern. This was supposed to be a simple grab and go, why did she sound so rigid?

One pilot shrugged. “Maybe it’s just post battle jitters?” The bay doors that dominated the end of the bay opened with a loud whirring sound. The crimson sky shined through, beckoning them forward.

“Alright, squadron move out, Gold Two and Three form up aside Gold One. Gunners keep an eye out for rocket fire. Let’s get this mission under way.” The Hellions streaked away from the Aurora, Blake trying to clear her mind the whole way to the landing zone.

 Ten minutes from the landing zone they encountered trouble. “Blake about forty hostiles below! They’re engaging!” shouted Jordan as he initiated evasive maneuvers.

“Try to dodge their fire. I'm going to need you to hold us steady as soon as they relent Jordan,” Blake clicked her mike “Gold 3 shift out and use your gunners to provide covering fire. Gold 2 get on their flank. Do not get out of each others support areas, we're in more danger than we should be already. Prepare your anti lock flairs.” She commanded.

“Jordan unlock doors and prepare for emergency drop, I’ll take the forward squads.” She turned without waiting for a response.

The sound of mini gun rounds peppering the ridge was resounding through the hull of the ship. Blake pulled out her weapon of choice, a Variant Ballistic Chain Scythe, _Gambol Shroud_ , from its compartment and checked the cartridge. All rounds accounted for. Putting one in the chamber, she sheathed the weapon and ensured her light nano armor was well in place. 

"I'm holding her steady Blake, you're good to go"

“Good, I’m opening the door. Executing emergency drop.” Sliding the door, she steadied herself as the Hellion swayed. She leapt from the Hellion, dropping down gracefully like a descending Raven. Feet on the ground, she assessed the battle zone. It looked like some of the rebels were trying to find cover from the gunners’ continuous fire. Well then, just a few to take care of.

“Gold Two, Gold Three, cease fire and provide overwatch, I want any and all information on their movement and the surrounding area. I don't want to be suprised. These guys are mine.” She clicked off her mike.

“I’m really not in a good mood” she said darkly. The rebels spotted her as she moved up the incline, the earth ripped up and riddled with holes from the Hellions fire. Turning towards her several at a time, the rebels began taking aim at something they thought they could finally kill. Pulling Gambol Shroud from its’ sheathe, she took aim at the nearest rebels. Three bullets, three targets. All three went down. Activating her semblance, her shadow clone after-images took the bullets aimed at her, the rounds hissing overhead and around as the rebels tried desperately to land a hit on her. Using the chain, she threw the scythe ended portion of the pistol at the nearest one and it buried in his chest. Slowly, the remaining resistance crumbled as she took out rebel after rebel. Her armor was painted with blood, death was no stranger to this warrior. Her expression rigid, Blake cleared her mind. Unlike Ruby and Weiss, she was no stranger to conflict, having been with the White Fang when she was young and initially aiding Adam in his misguided missions against humans. That didn’t make it any easier to stomach after the adrenaline died. Forcing her nausea down, she looked up the rest of the incline. The enemy fort was a ways up, and this appeared to be the rear path to it, possibly the escape route used as a contingency.

“Gold One I'm proceeding on foot, it’s not far. Establish the landing zone and begin pulling the squad out. I’ll alert Specialist Yang myself”

“Roger that. Nice hunting Blake, they didn’t stand a chance.”

She was glad that he could not see how those words made her pale.

   ……………………………………

         

      Yang sat on a crate drinking Pico Juice that she managed to scrounge from one of her squad mates. The fires that ravaged the rebel stronghold had been put out by the supporting team of Sentinel personnel that Commander Erben had brought with him. Swinging her feet while on the crate like a 5 year old while drinking juice made her release a sound of satisfaction. Nothing like drinking juice and relaxing after going all out. She leaned back and drifted off, the bandages around her leg forgotten, though the occasionally pulsating waves of pain kept her from fully sleeping.

      She was still dozing when Blake tiredly jogged over to her. Blake hadn’t been injured significantly in what could only be called a skirmish, but flying debris and close combat did take its toll, she had slight cuts around her arms and face, but she didn’t mind at that moment, her attention was focused on the subject dozing on top of a crate. Taking in her appearance with a worried look, Blake assessed her condition.

     Battered, bruised, and with a tear in her armor where the leg was bandaged, she looked every bit as beautiful as the sunrise. Blake did a double take and looked down at the ground. “Did I just think she was beautiful?!” she muttered, confused and disturbed. She peeked up at Yang’s dozing figure again, transfixed.

     “Well, I can’t say she’s not I suppose” she added quietly. She shook her head, she had to get it together. She straightened up and closed the distance between the two. Poking Yang, she woke her up.

    “Yang, sorry to burst your bubble, but you’re in the middle of the battlefield, taking a nap. See anything wrong with this picture?”

    Yang opened one eye and looked up at Blake. “Yeah, there’s not a single pillow anywhere in this place. How the hell these guys slept I’ll never know” she grumbled.

     Blake sighed in exasperation, while in her mind she couldn’t help but think of Yang’s response as somewhat adorable. Looking at her leg in concern, she knelt down and examined the binding. It was well wrapped, and it was narrow so it seems it was just a bullet grazing. Lightly touching a finger to it, Blake muttered “I was a bit scared you know, to hear someone had gotten the better of you. How did you let a bullet get past your barrier? There was a reason we gave you the APG you know”. Yang gave her a sultry look. “He so did not! He just managed to get me when I was thinking about something else is all. I still kicked his ass” she said smartly, “as for the generator, well” she bit her lip, “I kinda, forgot to stop the shield generation, sooo, I didn’t realize I was mostly out of aura and didn’t have enough to deflect the bullet.” She gave Blake a “my bad” smile.

 “You idiot”, Blake sighed, happy at least, that it wasn’t a serious wound. “Let’s go Yang, the extraction squadron is waiting for us, the rest of the squad and whatever we took from here are already loaded up,” she informed her bleary eyed team mate.

    With a look of annoyance (probably at being forced to get up) mixed with exhaustion, Yang hopped up. “Alright let’s get a move on then, my juice awaits!” They headed out to the landing zone.

     A flash caught her attention. Ears twitching, Blake looked behind her, to the mountain that backed the complex. She gazed at it, golden eyes narrowed at one of the ridges. After staring at it for a few seconds, she thought she imagined it. She turned and caught up with Yang, and set off for the helicopters.

 


	3. Little Red Riding Hood

Chapter 3: Little Red Riding Hood

 

     She sucked in her breath, willing the White Fang soldier not to see her. Still as stone, she waited as the grunt made his way past her hiding place, trying her best to blend into the foliage. He looked around, white mask glinting in the moonlight, grunted, and continued with his patrol. Waiting until she was sure he was gone, she didn’t move an inch. Finally, she breathed a sigh of relief.

      “Boy that could’ve been bad. Guess the White Fang aren’t slacking off.”

She inched forward, red cloak trailing down her back, hood flapping with the wind. Activating her semblance, she used her speed to scale the side of the short cliff, to get an overview of the area. Trying to move so as to not make audible noise, she kneeled and observed the daunting scene before her: at least four thousand green and black tents lined the valley below, nestled in between the two mountains. “Oh this is not good,” Grimly, she looked at the mobile armor they had deployed under camouflage nets. While not as large as the full military of any of the kingdoms, none of the enemy forces that had been engaged in the last two years came close to this size. The damage a force like this could inflict could completely bog the army and air force down in guerilla warfare for years.

White Fang visibly drilled down below, mech tanks lined up on the edge of the encampment, with the command tent discernable in the center of the formation.

 “Maybe that’s Adam’s tent,” she muttered. The leader of the White Fang, Adam, was a formidable tactician, and a total pain in the ass. His preference to hit his targets then fade into the environment had been making the area south of Vytal unreachable. She looked further on. Also visible were the symbols of the Grimm Revenants. A pack of idiots who worshipped the Grimm as harbingers of the end, it had been reported that they had joined the White Fang as part of the military force they were building.

“Guess this proves it, they are building up their forces. For a march on Vale?” she mused. That wasn’t a comforting thought. While the Valesian military was concentrated around the city now, the attack on vale a few years ago proved that it was very easy to catch the city completely unprepared, even when it thought it was prepared.

“If only there were cruisers to spare for air to surface bombardment. Could that have been part of the plan to ensure this group could mobilize?” considering it, she shook her head muttering to herself.

“Unlikely, we hadn’t planned to use the cruiser battle group in combat that day.”

The Sentinel fleet consisted of a core of four heavy cruisers, eight interceptor class frigates, and auxiliary ships, but only half of the fleet had been deployed to see action. Two of the three heavy cruisers the Sentinels deployed had been damaged and grounded after a heavy three day battle with entrenched rebels on the southern coast, near the Arellan Marshes. Expecting a quick victory, they had been completely caught off guard when heavy magic anti-aerial batteries opened on the battle group. The guns had been pure prototype, suggested by the military engineers as a possible heavy air battery. They hadn’t been developed as the amount of dust needed to operate them for any significant time was larger than the military was willing to expend. The _Determination_ had been shredded, and was almost torn in two, being unable to cope with the planets gravity now after its artificial systems had taken heavy damage. The _Sunspire_ had its engines riddled with holes, punctured fuel lines had almost let to a colossal explosion that would have annihilated the rest of the force. It was for all purposes a devastating victory. Devastating in that the effectiveness of the Sentinels had been nearly halved, with only the flagship Aurora still air worthy, as well as a few heavy carriers and transports. The cruiser _Lightning_ had been in action near Atlas, and so it hadn’t been crippled in the fight, but it had stopped transmitting its’ coordinates weeks ago. It had disappeared, and no one knew how or why. Neither the transports nor the carriers were suited to forward combat. Though the sentinels had won the battle after serious casualties, the loss of the ships almost negated it.

“This is bad, there are other rebel factions probably mixed in with the rest of the army. How did they manage to gather them all here without anyone noticing?” This could mean a huge breach in intelligence, but she needed more to go on. “I should probably head back and report to the Commander,” deciding, she turned to make her exit. Walking a precarious road down the side of the cliff, she jumped down, and happened to land right next to one of the White Fang sentries.

“Huh?! Who the hell are you! Put your hands up!” he demanded as he raised his rifle.

“Uhhh, are you mugging me?” she replied cheekily.

“I said hands up, or ill blast you full of holes,” he demanded, pulling out his radio. “Now!”

“You know, you’re supposed to help little girls out when they’re lost, how rude” she stuck her tongue out at him. Reaching back, she pulled Crescent Rose out, and extended it to its full length.

“Yeeeeah, sorry I gotta go, but nice chatting with you mister!” pulling back and swinging with the back of the scythe, she knocked him unconscious, catching his body so it didn’t make a loud noise.

“Hmm, sorry friend, I can’t have you reporting back to the Army when you wake.” She grimaced, she didn’t want to kill an unarmed person, she didn’t have it in her, but she could put him somewhere where he’d have a really hard time making it back, buying some time.

“Alrighty, let’s go big guy” heaving him over her shoulder took effort, but all it took was her semblance to have her speeding out of there like a rocket. Her speed had earned her the nickname Rose Bullet in the army, not that it was ever really used much other than casually, which she always though it was a shame since it sounded so cool.

Through passes, around tall grass and high pine trees, like the wind she sped through the wilderness until she reached the edge of Lake Nevermore, she was quickly getting to the limits of her stamina.

“Here’s good enough I think. Sorry friend, I hope you stay alive out here” she muttered as she placed him at the base of a tree on a mountainside. She looked around.

“Seems like, a good dozen miles away maybe” she estimated the distance back to the White Fang and rebel camp.

She sighed. “Well, time to get back to camp to signal a pick up from the commander” she said as she pulled out her map to get her bearings. She’d get to see her sister she thought happily, and Weiss. That last one made her smirk a bit. Things with Weiss were, a bit weird. The feisty silver haired walking ball of impatience had been giving her strange looks ever since Ruby had come back after taking down a rebel faction in the eastern wilds of the continent, which seemed to linger more than it usually would have. Usually she’d give Ruby a glare as if to say “took you long enough, hurry it up next time”, but this time, there had been no hardness in her gaze, in fact, it had seemed almost, soft.  Not that she minded, but she didn’t think Weiss was thinking the same thing she was, and bringing it up would probably infuriate her, so she had decided to keep it to herself.

“Not like she’d ever see me that way anyway” she muttered. “Ah well, no use moping around.” Having gotten a good sense of the direction she should be heading in, she sped off.

An hour later, she arrived at her make shift camp, a somewhat large tent smartly set up in camouflaged colors, sleeping bag still open, and very small table with food cans and ramen boxes littered inside. It was rather messy, but Ruby thought the mess gave it character. As she ducked inside, a little bump arose from under the sleeping bag. Ruby smiled,

“Zwei come out of there! Although, I suppose it is still dark out,” she chuckled as Zwei stuck his little nose from underneath the bag. His head completely uncovered, he gave a big yawn before he padded out and nuzzled Ruby’s leg.

“C’mon boy, lets send the commander a pick up message” he barked enthusiastically.

She typed in the necessary coordinates, and gave a brief message instructing the urgency of the pick-up. The encryption software sealed it for Sentinel use only, and then sent it to HQ.

“There, now all we have to do is wait.” Not five seconds went by before she couldn’t stand just sitting down anymore.

“Ugh, waiting is so boring! I already had to do a lot of it just when staking out the White Fang. Wanna go poke around to make sure there are no baddies Zwei?”

He barked, and trotted off. Ruby chuckled “I guess I have my answer!” She quickly set off after him.

“There shouldn’t be any surprises around, but I shouldn’t risk it.” She stopped Zwei and kneeled to lower her profile. She pulled out Crescent Rose and checked the cartridge and chamber, making sure they were loaded, and continued on.

“Kinda wish Weiss was here” she said glumly. “She would be really fun to irritate. Oh I can just imagine her haughty ice princess response.” Laughing quietly at the mental image, she set off to scout around with Zwei while the message did its thing.

 

                                   …………………………………………………………………………………………………….....

 

     Exhausted, she threw herself onto her sleeping bag, her little companion lying down next to her. She closed her eyes. She let herself drift off, darkness suffusing her vision.

Icy blue eyes that were almost grey looked at her from beyond the darkness. Snowflakes danced in an ever shifting waltz from the sky. Ruby looked around. She knew this place. This was the cross roads that lay just beyond the house where she and Yang grew up. The snow would always coat the trees and greenery in a lovely blanket. She caught movement from the corner of her eyes. Turning, she saw the source of the movement. It was a beautiful woman draped in a grey robe, armor plating cupped her arms and chest. Her silver hair swaying, a golden crown adorned her head. She looked like Weiss, but a sharper, angled face that bespoke the wisdom of years proved otherwise. The similarity was less obvious the more Ruby looked. The woman walked towards her, a rapier tied to her dress, boots softly treading the snow that lay before the path. She smiled a gentle smile, and appeared to speak.

“Uhh Miss? I can’t hear anything you’re saying! Where are we, how did we get here?” shivering, Ruby walked towards her, her steps seeming to never get closer. Unsettled, she stopped and looked at her, looking for an explanation.

The woman gave her a small smile, her eyes sad. The wind seemed to carry her words, which were nothing more than a whisper. “Hurry home Ruby, you need to hurry home”. Not understanding her meaning, Ruby tried running towards her again. The regal figure kneeled in the snow, unmoving, the now howling wind battering her mercilessly. Then the world exploded in a burst of sheer white.

                                                                .............................................................................

Ruby awoke with a silent scream. Sweat coated her face, breathing heavily she looked around. It wasn’t even dawn yet, she thought as the night sky greeted her. Zwei was asleep next to her, and a low blinking light greeted her from the table where she had set her communicator tablet. Still trembling from what she felt was a nightmare, she reached for the tablet. Commander Erben had responded an hour ago.

_“Acknowledged. Phantom class transport dispatched to extract. Intended LZ coordinates are as follows. Make sure of no hostiles by 0700 Specialist Rose. Erben Out.”_

 

She chuckled, Erben was still as gruff as he was a few months ago, some things never change. The mood for sleep having long since gone, she shook herself awake, and began to get dressed, exchanging the silk one piece that she slept in for her regular combat dress.

She looked at the time. “Good, I still have a few hours before the Phantom arrives. Zwei, wake up, we gotta go buddy,” she poked him awake. Blinking his eyes awake, her furry companion let out a big yawn before standing up. Shaking himself awake, he trotted next to her. Smiling, she scratched behind his ears affectionately.

“Cute little bugger aren’t you Zwei” He barked in affirmation. She chuckled, “alright let’s get going, we can get a head start before the sun is completely up.”

Starting off at a jog, they made their way through the dense foliage towards their destination, red cape billowing behind her.


	4. Ice Princess

Chapter 4: Ice Princess

Impatience dominated her steps, as she walked down the hallway connecting the eastern tower to the central commons of the Royal Palace of the Kingdom of Atlas. She hated meeting with the nobility; the intrigue, the espionage, and the backhanded comments, all of it. The Royal Court was the premier ground for this kind of noble, with each person trying to increase their influence with the Queen for their own advantage or that of their house. The Sentinels used her connections in the Schnee company as well as the Royalty for monetary and personnel support, and had sent her four days ago to charm some of the nobility of Atlas.

“Annoying old bats, I doubt there’s a moment they wouldn’t happily be talking about someone behind their back. This is why I never wanted to come here” she muttered furiously. She had just spent four hours talking to a group of Duchesses, trying to get her purpose of securing funds for the Sentinels across at some point. She had spent the whole night rehearsing what she was going to say. And it was all for nothing, the minute she had come into their presence, all the ladies were interested in was buttering her up to try and get support from her father in their houses dealings, or badmouthing one noble in favor of another. For the entire duration of their meeting, she hadn’t been able to get in more than a few words before she was interrupted with “Oh Weiss dear did you hear about…” which would invariably follow some gossip or another.

“Ugh, why’d the commander have to send me to Atlas of all bloody places” she grumbled. She said it knowing perfectly well why, she was just complaining because she could.

“Lady Weiss, the Queen wanted a word before you depart” came a voice near the door of the commons. Halting her interior monologue, Weiss quickly glanced over. It was the Queens personal attendant Anya, a rabbit eared Faunus.

“Very well, is she in the throne room?”

“No Miss, follow me please” turning, Anya indicated towards the west wing of the palace, where the Queen’s living quarters were housed. Surprised, Weiss followed with little a word. The palace had begun to empty of the masses of Nobles, having been dismissed by the Queen until the morrow. Her majesty’s royal guards, as well as a few other officials were the main if not sole occupiers of the palace now. Weiss’ boots clicked on the ground with every step she took behind Anya, nervousness growing the closer she got to their destination. She had never personally met the Queen, she had only seen her from afar a few times when she held her court attendance, or when she went abroad for diplomatic events, though those were rare. It was this world that Weiss had made an effort to avoid, one her father had groomed her for. She would have none of it.

Anya’s sudden halt signaled their arrival. They stood in front of large chestnut doors, intricately carved landscapes and animals were carved into its frame, inlaid with precious metals. Two guards stood at attention outside, both in ornate silver plated armor, dust rapiers glistening on their belts. The one on the left wore an auburn cape and an insignia of a white spear bisecting a circular gear, with three stars on its borders that indicated he was lord commander of the royal guard. His sharply tailored beard combined with his coal black eyes succeeded in giving him an intimidating presence. Farther down the hall more lined the walls, their armor flickering with the torchlight.

“We are expected by her highness, Lord Commander, and she has placed her weapons in the care of the steward. May we?” The lord commander on Anya’s left gazed at Weiss with searching eyes.

“Be mindful of our monarch, Lady Schnee” he said curtly, before leaning to open the double doors. Steeling herself, she walked inside.

It was a room befitting the Queen of Atlas. Icy white walls were adorned with drapes of the finest silk, paintings of the royal family were placed here and there, the heads of game placed on top of the mantelpiece, a massive bed dominated the center, while a roaring fire illuminated the room. In front of it, stood the monarch of Atlas.

 Anya kneeled, “My Lady, I am here with Miss Schnee as you requested”. Gracefully standing, she turned towards Weiss. “Lady Weiss you have the honor of addressing her Royal Highness, Queen Lilyana Draken of Atlas, Sovereign of the Frozen Realms, Dragon of the North”.

Quite a title, thought Weiss.

She crisply kneeled. “My Lady, it is an honor to be admitted into your presence”. Queen Lilyana turned towards her, and Weiss sucked in her breath in surprise. The Queen was beautiful; her long silver hair cascaded around her shoulders, flowing like a river over a sharp face with ruby red lips, which was only made more stunning by her eyes, so icy they were almost grey. A gentle expression suffused her face, and she smiled.

“It is a pleasure to meet you Lady Weiss, I don’t believe we have ever had the opportunity to personally meet”.

“We have not, your highness”.

       “But I have heard much about you, and I have seen you at the celebrations your family held for your fourteenth name day. I have always wanted to speak to you. You show much promise as a huntress, as well as being an exemplary individual. It’s a shame really, that I haven’t had the time meet you sooner. I feel if my husband was still in the land of the living, I’d want a daughter much like you”. Weiss felt the heat rising in her face.

“Is it alright if I called you Weiss?”

            “Of course your majesty, I don’t mind in the slightest,”

      Still smiling, she looked at Anya and nodded. Anya bowed, before turning and leaving. Worry gnawed at the back of her mind. It was only the two of them in the room. It was a very suffocating thought to be alone with a Queen. It felt like it would be a nightmare situation for any royal guard. As if reading her mind, the queen spoke,

“Do not worry, my royal guard is right outside so I am never truly alone,” her eyes looked sad as she spoke. “And I will not keep you for long Weiss. You must be curious. I have called you here for several reasons. After, you have a transport waiting to take you back to your base, you’ll understand why shortly” she added after Weiss furrowed her brows

“As you say, my lady”.

“Firstly, I have news about your companions that was transmitted to my communications bureau, and I thought to give it to you personally as a show of good faith. Your companion’s Yang Xiao Long and Blake Belladonna have returned from an incursion in the western half of the continent of Mistral. Long was mildly injured, and Belladonna as well after extracting the former”.

Weiss sighed. That hot head was going to get herself killed one day.

“Secondly, your Commander informed me that your friend Ruby Rose was recently picked up from her reconnaissance mission in the south western forests of Vale,” Weiss turned rigid at the words. “I understand you haven’t seen her for a little over a month. She’ll be waiting for you when you arrive” the Queen added.

Trying not to shuffle her feet while keeping her face expressionless, Weiss bowed in thanks. On the inside she was excited and happy to hear the news. Not that she’d ever tell anyone. Taking a deep breath, she thought of how she should face Ruby. Ever since Weiss had seen Ruby sustain serious injuries while supporting Yang and Weiss’ sweeps in the desert of Vacuo, she had grown somewhat frantic. For the first time it had hit her that they were really in the middle of a war, that at any point the mission any of them were on might be their last. For the first time since becoming a huntress, she’d been scared that she might actually lose those that she had grown close to. Especially Ruby.

“The last thing I must tell you,” she continued, breaking Weiss out of her reverie, “is something that you must keep to yourself” her voice became very quiet. Turning back towards the fireplace, Lilyana leaned a hand against the stone, as if to steady herself.

“I have no wish to dance around my request, so I will be direct. I am a seer, Weiss, in a certain sense of the word. I can sometimes see the branching paths that the present may take, shaped by the decisions of a few, and carried out by the will of the many. The futures I see are not guaranteed. It takes but one action, to completely change an outcome. It always varies. Lately, I have seen one where the outcome remains consistent, again and again. Except, when you and yours intervene.” She turned to look at Weiss.

“In three weeks’ time, during the lunar celebration, a group of insurgents will manage to infiltrate my kingdom, and at some point during the three days, I will die. The methods of assassination vary. I am a capable warrior, the title _Dragon_ is not for show, which makes it all the more worrisome that this group manages to eliminate me. I do not know who they are, I do not know how they manage to get in, and in every scenario, no matter if the lord commander of my guard gets to me, or I stay inside my palace, or even decide to face them in combat, I meet my end” she whispered, the sound carrying across the room.

“I am not a vain Queen. Vanity is a trait that should be absent in a monarch, but I am a realist. If I die, my kingdom will fall. I am taking steps to try and spread out the organization of my government, but it won’t be enough. I have been dreading the following weeks, trying to figure out how to prevent this, and failing miserably. Until you arrived in my kingdom four days ago. My visions are never extensive, they come in flashes, but I have become very adept at reading them. Somehow you and your friends, prevent this disaster. I do not know if this group is targeting only me, or any of the other governments, but I need you Weiss”. Her eyes alight with fire, Lilyana continued in a determined voice.

“I need you and your friends to find out who is trying to bring down my kingdom. If you accept this Weiss, I will grant each of you one boon, as well as knighthood. I also ask you as a person who has no wish to see her life ended. Please, lend me your strength” she finished, her voice wavering.

Weiss was at a loss for words. The Queen smiled ruefully,

“I’m very aware at how all this must sound. Foresight, according to our legends, is a skill passed down the female side of the Line of Draken, It’s more of a curse really” she said bitterly. “I hope however, that your sense of justice and desire to keep the kingdoms stable, will convince you to accept”

Weiss knelt.

            “I will not allow these assassins to succeed your majesty, you have my word and my honor. I know I have not had many opportunities to approach you, but I hope you believe me when I say I would never stand by and let murder happen unpunished”.

Lilyana’s anxiety visibly lessened, and her earlier smile returned.

            “Thank you Weiss, it’s a great comfort to hear that. I have already informed my guard, and the sentries outside, are the result of it. You and your team will have much more flexibility to find and end this group” suddenly, she looked over at the back wall where the _Euphoria_ was hung, the Cold Steel saber that was passed down the royal line. Its intricate silver cross guard inlaid with gold, in its pommel laid the symbol of reign: the Jewel of the North, a pure sapphire so finely cut and placed, it shone like blue fire.

“When you and your friends arrive in Atlas, I shall appoint you part of my personal guard, so you may investigate the city at your leisure. While unofficial, consider it a temporary position before ascension to knighthood”.

Weiss beamed at her. Everything was happening so fast, it was almost disorienting. She focused on breathing. She had to keep calm, she was an heiress and knew how to act proper.

 “Now, it’s gotten late, and you have a flight to catch. There is a steward outside the palace ready to take you to the air bays” the Queen informed her.

“Oh! You’re quite right your majesty. When I arrive, I will explain the mission to Commander Erben, and shall be back in time before the lunar festivities.” She bowed, turning to depart, before she heard the Queen speak once more.

     “I will be sure to send a message ahead to your commander, but don’t fill him in with the specific details. The more we keep this under wraps the less chance there is for the enemy to catch wind of it. I will personally appeal to him in the notice. Enjoy the trip back” she gave a very unroyal like grin and wave. Weiss found it endearing.

Bowing again, she turned and exited her majesty’s quarters, and headed straight for the entrance, back rigid with pride, where the steward was waiting.

………………………………………………………………

Watching her leave, Lilyana’s smile began to falter. Breathe, she thought. Closing her eyes, she focused on nothing else but the sound of her inhaling and exhaling. After several minutes, she opened her eyes. She was the sovereign of a nation who boasted the most technologically advanced military in the world, her position almost guaranteed she would always be a target for someone. It was an accepted thing from when she was born into the family. And yet she was still afraid of dying. She was young, for being queen. Not yet at the end of her twenty eighth year, she still had much she wanted to do for her kingdom.

The ghost of her visions danced across her memories. She gave a wan smile, and decided that tonight, she felt like reading herself to sleep. Walking over to a chair near the fire place, she sat and picked up a book that had been left on the table near it.

“ _Legends of Remnant_ , I haven’t read this since I was a little girl” she mused, before delicately opening it to a story about warriors with silver eyes.

Outside, rain had begun to fall, washing away the dust and dirt that had gathered outside the window, while the stars became obscured by the darkening sky.

………………………………………………………………

     “Finally” Weiss said in exasperation. With the delay due to a storm, it took forever getting to the _Aurora of Remnant_ stationed off the coast of Mistral. The transport aligned itself to the cruisers starboard, before docking to it. As the ramp descended, her earlier nervousness returned to her. She was never one to show affection, growing up in a family that was more interested in running a company, she had found it easier to just not express that type of emotion. So she was at a complete loss on how to tell Ruby she was interested in her. Hell, she was even more scared of Ruby saying she didn’t see her that way than she was of fighting Grimm. Which was a very real possibility, she had often been very cold to Ruby, and it was a wonder Ruby didn’t dislike Weiss on principle.

     She sighed as she walked off the transport. The crew snapped into a salute as she passed by. She smiled at them, it was good to see them again. A welcome change of pace from all the blasted nobles she had to deal with in Atlas. She was still mulling things around in her head as she walked down a hallway towards the bridge of the ship, when she heard a weird noise growing in intensity.

     “WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEISSSS!” was all she had a chance to hear before a furious ball of red tackled her. With an “oomph” Weiss was knocked off her feet. Together, they tumbled down the hall until they finally came to a stop. Weiss was underneath the body that currently had her pinned, her eyes closed out of reflex and hands up trying stop herself, she felt something soft. Curious, not understanding what the softness was, she opened her eyes. Her hands were on Ruby’s chest. Mortified, Weiss wrenched her hands down and flung Ruby off her, sputtering apologies and other half words.

      “Uh, hey Weiss,” Ruby’s face was beet red, embarrassment radiating from her. “Sorry about that, I guess I got a little excited that you were finally here”.

      Her initial outrage dying before she could express it, Weiss sighed.

     “Ruby you idiot, you could have seriously injured us both. Can you at least not act like an animal from the wilds?” she sounded hostile, but her gentle face as she reached out to haul Ruby to her feet showed otherwise. “It’s good to see you too, it’s been a while. Sorry about um, the hands on your chest” she colored again. Furious at herself for not being able to control her expression, she continued as though nothing was wrong. “How did your mission in the jungles go?”

     “Oh you know, a bug here, a rebel army there, typical stuff” she said with a grin. “Have you eaten yet? Did you put your stuff in your room? What about your mission report, did you report to the commander yet? Oh! Yang and Blake are here too! Come see them!” she quickly jabbered, as she tugged on Weiss’ sleeve.

    “Now hold on Ruby, I just got here, I still have to report to Erben. I have to talk to you as well, some things happened while I was in Atlas that involves us. The four of us” she quickly corrected. Ruby smiled and gave a mock salute.

      “Aye sir!”

Her unceasing bubbliness made Weiss just want to pinch her cheeks. Hell why not? Reaching out, she pinched Ruby’s cheek.

    “Gah, Weish,” she complained, hey eyes crinkled in pain.

    “You’re as excitable as ever, aren’t you kid”

    “I’m not a kid!” she whined, her lips pouting.

No, she thought, you’re not. As Ruby was rubbing her cheek with her pouty expression in place and her soft lips pinched, Weiss’ mind blanked. Before she fully understood what she was doing she had walked over to Ruby and gently kissed her. Ruby turned rigid in surprise. As though finally realizing what she was doing, she immediately broke off contact. Mortified both by her actions and Ruby’s apparent rejection, Weiss whispered “sorry” before rushing past Ruby towards the bridge. Tears stung her eyes and threatened to come. She forced them away. She refused to present herself in front of her commander with watery eyes like some unprofessional commoner. She could hear frantic footsteps behind her as she marched her way forward.

      “Weiss! Wait! Wait a moment!” Ruby cried out behind her. “Cripes you walk fast” she heard her mutter. She had no intention of stopping. The last thing she needed was to be told that it was just an overly affectionate friendship, thing. Or something worse.

A hand caught onto her wrist, and forced her to a stop. Refusing to turn around, she waited for Ruby to say something.

     “Stop for a minute! Can you please tell me what that was about?” When Weiss didn’t respond, Ruby stepped in front of her. “Earth to Weiss” she poked her cheek. Face coloring again, Weiss looked away.

Ruby sighed. “Fine, guess I’ll have to get it out of you forcefully.” Confused, Weiss turned her face slightly to see what she was up to. What she didn’t expect, were the gentle hands on either side of her face. Turning her face fully towards her, Ruby kissed her. Or, kissed her back, would probably be the appropriate phrase. She didn’t get to fully process what was going on, when Ruby took a step back.

     “Was that, okay?” she asked nervously.

Suddenly shy, Weiss’ response wasn’t as articulate as it could’ve been, “Yes, um, quite nice, okay, right”. Realizing she was borderline incoherent, she cleared her throat and braced herself. She might as well come out with it.

      “I wasn’t going to say anything. Since it’s gotten to this I might as well. I really like you Ruby. And I don’t mean just as a team mate. I was hoping, that sometime in the future I could get you to see me the same way I see you, since I only just realized my feelings in the last couple of months. I mean, I know I can kind of be a pain, so I wouldn’t blame you if all you see us as is friends. It’s okay if you do I mean, I’ll cope, I won’t make things awkward I promise” she babbled

Ruby gave her a bemused look. “I kiss you back and you think I just want to be friends huh. Did I just not kiss you hard enough I wonder?” Weiss sputtered while Ruby laughed. “You don’t have to try to get me to like you in the future, I like you now. I’m actually surprised you made a move first”.

      “I’m pretty sure you just added something unnecessary” Weiss responded, eyes narrowed. Ruby stuck her tongue out at her. “I wasn’t planning to you know. I actually didn’t know how I was even going to start, but when I saw you with that cute, pouty look on your face, I just, reacted” Ruby blushed.

      “So then, would you be interested in going out with me?” Ruby asked timidly.

Weiss couldn’t help but chuckle. She had been the one to start this and now Ruby was beating her to the punch. “Of course. You’d better straighten yourself up though. If you’re going to date the heiress to the largest dust company in the world, you’re going to be prim and proper”. Ruby looked horrified at her words. “Oh I’m just kidding. You only have to be proper” she replied laughing as she turned and continued toward the bridge to give the commander her report.

 

 

 

 

 


	5. A Brief Debrief Before Departure

Chapter 5: A Brief Debrief Before Departure

 

            The debriefing room was lined with maps and photographs of White Fang and rebel commanders, known rebel fortresses and outposts, and history data on the walls. Topographic sketches lined with enemy positions along with strategy books and research material littered the tables that Yang, Blake and Erben were leaning over, studying.

            As Weiss and Ruby walked in, all three looked up. Yang’s face lit up at the sight of them, she sprinted toward them with an enthusiastic cry, crushing Ruby into her trademark bear hug. “Ruby! You’re back!”

 “Yep, missed you too” came a muffled voice, as Yang nuzzled Ruby’s cheek.

“I needed a healthy dose of vitamin sister” she sighed happily. Ruby smirked.

“Weird as ever aren’t you Yang,”

“You know it little sister,”

     Weiss rolled her eyes at the exchange, and looked at Commander Erben. “Commander, did you receive the communication from her Highness?” all four turned to look at her. Erben nodded.

“I did. I have my concerns, but we can discuss the proposed mission scenario and other details at the hologram table.” Waving his hand over at the front of the room, they all walked over to a sleek black table, wires peeking out of its base, the sharp edges combined with the sheer futuristic design gave it a very eerie presence. Typing in a few commands, Erben brought up a map of the continent Atlas resided on: Mantle.

            Rolling peaks of its massive mountain ranges and frozen tundra dominated the terrain, the snow a white blanket as far as the eye could see. Jagged coastlines prevented a full naval port from existing, but there were smaller ones at stable locations south of the capital, as well as the key aeroport at Atlas itself, which was where the majority of its trade came. It wasn’t an iceberg, greenery did exist in areas of the continent, exist on the continent, and these were the areas were most of the bits of civilization could be found. While the walled city of Atlas was the de facto capital as well as the largest collection of people, there were smaller scattered villages dotting the land. The ones who inhabited these were the wilder ones, who had learned to avoid and ward off Grimm instead of fighting, as none of the ones who stayed outside the city were hunters. Once Grimm had made overland routes dangerous, now there were roads and areas completely clear of them, thanks to the Atlesian military. Boasting the strongest and most technologically advanced military force in the world, the Atlesian divisions under General Ironwood had cleared swaths of territory south of the city, towards the coast, of Grimm. The constant need to patrol these routes bogged the army down, it became even worse after the Grimm Surge in Vale threatened to bring down the city, before its hunters had stopped them. The Atlesian city council refused to let the bulk of its armed forces remain in Vale, especially after it had so easily been disabled. The autonomous portion of the army, that had been so praised as to not place actual soldiers in harm’s way, had proven its undoing when it had been remotely hacked, going so far as turning not only their autonomous soldiers against their masters, but also their naval carriers.

            These swaths of clear land had become more and more perilous as of late, the military had been slowly bogged down by constant waves of Grimm. The council wanting to pull back the army made things even worse, as the settlements outside of the capital began to beg for aid. Erben pointed to the area outside of the city.

      “In the last few weeks, the city council has pulled their military further and further away from their original established lines of clearance. The Queen of Atlas has tried again and again to reestablish these lines, but every time the council has almost unanimously overruled her. She could force her edict through, but she has been trying to reorganize her government, and does not think antagonizing the city’s upper echelons would be wise as of this point. Yesterday, I received a communique from the Queen herself, outlining a mission proposal, as well as stressing its urgency, and asking to consider it a personal favor.” He said looking at each of them. Yang whistled, Blake looked curious, and Ruby looked excited.

     “Woah, the Queen of Atlas asked for us? That’s so coooooool,” Ruby said in awe. “Did she say what for?”

     “Well I’m sure if you let him finish, you’ll know in a second Ruby” sighed Weiss.

     “Oh! Right, sorry Commander” she said sheepishly.

     “Here’s the gist of it ladies,” he continued. “According to the Queen, during the Lunar Celebration held in Atlas, a group of assassins will make their way into the royal palace, and attempt to assassinate her royal majesty. I have not been able to confirm these claims with either our intelligence network, or the Atlesian. However, the Queen of Atlas is a staunch ally of ours, and I have never had reason to believe she is unknowledgeable. I have little problem in sending you four for the duration of the celebration to investigate. If what she claims is true, then the entirety of the northern kingdom is in peril. Better safe than sorry. If we are all in agreement, you will leave for Atlas within the next three days. The lunar celebration is less than three weeks away, that will give you a solid two weeks to find any leads, and if the situation is as described, you are to eliminate the threat to the throne. Any questions?”

     “Yeah, what’re the rules for this? I assume we can’t go in, find a suspicious group and just cut our way through. Will the queen give us enough leeway to work in her city?” Blake asked pointedly.

      “That’s a good question,” Erben replied with a smirk. “For both your service, and your mission, the queen has agreed to temporarily place you inside her personal guard under the command of her captain. The position will allow you to investigate on the authority of the queen and you should have the cooperation of the local law enforcement. That doesn’t mean you can go blowing up building though” he looked pointedly at Yang, who looked away whistling. “And should all go well, at the end of the mission she has offered to knight each of you as a knight of her realm.” He ended dramatically. Three gaping mouths greeted him, only Weiss was smiling.

Ruby turned toward her, eyebrows raised, “You’re not surprised Weiss?”

     “Well no, I was the one who obtained the mission initially while I was in Atlas. The queen spoke to me personally.”

     “Well aren’t you fancy” Ruby gave a puffy face. Weiss smiled at the expression fondly and reached out to pinch her cheek.

     “You should be happier about it” she turned to the others. “Yang, Blake, I’m sure the queen’s suspicions are well founded, I hope that we can work together to keep her from harm. I know it’s been a few months since we last worked as a full team, so we have to work off a bit of rust.”  “That’s no problem, more field experience will be good for us” Blake replied. She looked at Yang with an odd expression. “Are you alright with all this?”

  
     “Well yeah, any time I get to knock out a bad guy is a good time. Plus I get to spend more time with all of you! Ruby you’re buying lunch.”

     “What?!”

     “That’s what you get for keeping out of touch little sis” she said with a smile, sticking her tongue out at her. “I could really go for a pizza though.”

      Erben cleared his throat, interrupting their reverie. “If everyone is in agreement then, I will make preparations for your departure. Your gear will all be loaded and ready to ship out with you, I’ll notify you of the time. In a few days, you all will be in Atlas, possibly deciding the fate of a kingdom. I hope you all take this seriously.” He nodded to each of them in turn before straightening and leaving the debriefing room.

      As he walked out, Blake walked over to the holographic map of a small scale city of Atlas, and Weiss joined her. As the two began talking about possible hideouts, escape routes and other specifics about their upcoming mission, Yang walked over to Ruby.

     “So little sis, what was that about?”

     “What was what about?”

     “We both know Weiss is a crabby no nonsense ice princess, so why does she seem all buttery with you? Tell me tell me!” she playfully demanded, poking Ruby’s cheek.

     “I um, don’t know what you mean!” obviously averting her gaze probably wasn’t the best move.

     “Ruby, I will tickle you into the next life.”

     “You play dirty, you know I’m ticklish,” she sighed with a resigned expression. “Hopefully she doesn’t kill me for telling you. Well, you see, um, earlier today, she kind of, kissed me” Yang’s jaw dropped.

     “She kissed you?! That is huge! I’m so gonna tease the living daylights out of her!” she said gleefully.

Ruby swatted her. “Yang! You better not! Wait….you don’t care that, it’s a girl who kissed me?”

     “Why would I care about that? If anything I’m more concerned that it’s Weiss,” she chuckled, at Ruby’s annoyed expression. “You like who you like, that’s what’s important. So before I burst into flames from curiosity tell me about the whole thing. Did she say why she kissed you? What did you do after?” she said hurriedly and with an all too eager look in her eye, the look a person looking for juicy gossip gets when they think they’ve got a catch. She glanced towards the maps, hoping that the other two were still immersed in mission details.

     “Well, if you must know, I’ve never said anything because I doubted anything would ever come out of it, but I’ve kind of, had a thing for Weiss for a while. It was easy to ignore since I would always take the scouting missions, you know, being out there for weeks on end, things become really easy to ignore. When we would meet up though, it was a little harder. Then today, I get really excited because it’s the first time I’ve seen her in months, you know? The last time was over on the flagship before assaulting the marshes. So in my excitement I, kind of tackled her” she said sheepishly, as Yang laughed.

     “Then what?”

     “Then, we were talking a bit, one thing led to another, and she suddenly kissed me. She tried brushing it off and left, but, missing a person day in day out sucks, so I just pulled her to a stop and asked her what it was about. She told me she liked me, and, I told her it was mutual” she grinned.

     “Well isn’t that cute” she ruffled Ruby’s hair. “Well Ruby I’m glad to see you’re happy. Just be careful, don’t forget that we can be shipped to the middle of combat at any time” she gently warned. “But that’s no reason not to enjoy yourself. Annoy her to the fullest!”

     “She IS rather fun to tease I admit”

     “You better not be talking about me” Weiss interrupted, eyebrow raised.

     “Weiss! Fancy seeing you here! How was the trip?” Yang interjected.

     “It was rather frustrating because of delays, but, I’m glad to be back Yang. I hear you’re as hot headed as ever, setting a whole fortress ablaze then getting your leg hit by a bullet? Did you get distracted by juice or something” she playfully chastised.

     “Oh shut up. Shenanigans aside, I’m rather excited by this mission. I’m not a huge fan of detective work though, so I might slow us down a bit. But the second we catch wind of those assassins I’ll be the one in front! I wonder when we ship out” she mused.

     “It’s probable we won’t get shipped until at least tomorrow afternoon, Yang overloaded her APG and her nanosuit sustained damage, my gear needs some repair and refitting as well. I’m unsure as to your gear but I’m sure Erben will be thorough” Blake supplied. “So now’s the time to take a break and unwind. I myself am starving so I’m heading to the mess hall. Want to come along Yang?” her expression wavered. Ruby noted it and furrowed her brows in mild curiosity.

     “Sure! I’m craving Pico Juice. Can I have yours?” she asked as Blake laughed on their way out. “Later Ruby, have fun” she wiggled her eyebrows. Weiss watched them leave with a confused expression.

     “What was that about?” she asked, turning to Ruby.

     “She ah, might have learned about us” she replied timidly.

     “How?!”

     “I uh, told her, sorry” she smiled in apology. Weiss sighed.

     “It hasn’t even been half a day, you know that right?” Ruby shrugged. “Well, what did she say?”

     “She says you like who you like, and she seemed okay with it”. Beaming, Ruby clapped her hands. “So all’s good!” Weiss allowed herself a little smile. _I’ll have to properly talk to Yang later, but I’m glad,_ she thought.

      “Don’t get ahead of yourself, we still have a mission to prepare for, so you and I are going to go over maps and mission details until you’ve got it memorized, got it?”

     “Oh c’mon Weiss, I’ll be fine with the mission outline Erben will send to us, and we can do it as we go when we get to Atlas. With team RWBY all in one place any bad guys won’t stand a chance!” Ruby’s eyes gleamed with an amusing yet fanatical determination.

     “It’s been a few years since we left Beacon Academy but you’re still sticking with team RWBY huh,” she scooted over to Ruby and ruffled her hair. “Well that’s fine, if it helps you concentrate even better. Come,” she got closer to Ruby and took her hand in hers. “Let’s go over some maps of Atlas’ outline, I want our fearless leader to at least be generally knowledgeable about the territory we’ll be operating in.”

     Happy at their joined hands, Ruby easily acquiesced like an obedient puppy. “Mmkay. But I still think we’ll be fine, maybe these assassins won’t even show up!”

Ignoring her happy boasting, Weiss continued to pull her to the maps of Atlas.

…………………………………………………………………………

 

     “Ugh, I’m stuffed.” Yang slumped onto her bed. Their room aboard the _Aurora_ was small, but it was comfortable enough for the two.

     “I can’t believe you ate that much chicken. I suppose you do need to stuff yourself after all the fighting” answered an amused voice from the other side of the room. Blake hopped off her bed and sat at the edge of Yang’s, not noticing her partners darkening expression.

     “Yeah, fighting does suck,” Yang commented in a quiet voice.

     “Yang?”

     “You know most people assume I like fighting,” Yang continued as though Blake hadn’t spoken. “I suppose I understand why, kinda hard not to assume that after seeing me go trigger happy on missions. It’s not like I don’t understand what’s happening though. I’m very aware I’m killing people. It ruins my appetite when I think about it”. Sighing, she rolled onto her side so she could look at Blake. Blake watched her with intense eyes.

     “Yang, I have a bad feeling about this mission.”

     “What do you mean?”

     “I’m not sure, it’s just a feeling I have, like a strong sense of dread. I had the same feeling when we first went out to Valley Glen before finding Torchwick and the White Fang. I don’t believe in coincidences, but, I can’t say for sure anything will happen. It’s very frustrating.” Blake stood up and slowly began to pace.

     “Well I know one thing, I won’t let anything happen to any of you, not while I’m alive” Yang said fiercely.

     Blake slowed to a stop midstride, her mind seemingly elsewhere, ears flattened against her head. “If something does happen during the missions, if things do end up going south, I’d hate to have had any regrets,” she said quietly. She turned towards Yang uncertainly.

     “Yang I –“she started tentatively.

     “I like you too” announced a grinning Yang.

     “Wait, what? How did you…… What?” her bewildered expression really tickled Yang. It was always fun teasing oh so serious Blake. _Man, I tease way too many people_ she realized.

     “I had an feeling you were looking at me sometimes. I wasn’t sure for a long time what it was about. I was curious if you’d ever say anything, you have to admit it’d be fascinating hearing you talk about it, you’re always so serious” Yang said with a smile. “Your personality is a lot different than the people I usually see, but I find it part of your charm. Plus its suuuuuper fun getting expressions out of you!”

     Blake gave a small smile, her little ears twitched as she spoke. “I wasn’t planning on suddenly saying anything, not even now. Thinking about the future though, it always reminds me we could be gone tomorrow. You don’t find it weird? That on top of the fact that I’m a Faunus I’m also a girl who’s interested in you?”

     “Why does everyone seem to care about gender” Yang grumbled. “Ruby asked me the same thing. Like who you like damn it!”

     “Well it’s not exactly an accepted---, Wait, why did Ruby ask you that?” she interrupted herself.

“………. Oh no” she groaned.

     Blake’s eyes lit with curiosity. “I’m not going to force you to say anything, but now that you’ve piqued my curiosity, I reeeeeally want to know. I’m a naturally curious cat” she explained lamely. “Tell me?”

     A guilty expression suffused Yang’s face. “Well, I shouldn’t be saying anything, but I don’t see the harm in you knowing. According to my little sister, our feisty compatriot, the ice princess, has expressed a keen interest in our little fearless leader.” Blake’s shocked expression was fully expected. Yang waggled her eyebrows.

     “How’s that for surprising eh?”

     “It really is, Weiss isn’t exactly the type to get affectionate. She’s more, a tough love person. She’s a lot less aggressive than how she was back in the academy though. As I continue to speak I realize you’ve distracted me, well done” Blake commended.

     Yang grinned and gave a “hell yeah”.

     Blake gave her a small smile. “Can you tie my ribbon on for me?” She handed Yang the ribbon and ducked her head.

     “I don’t see why you want this back on, we all know you’re a Faunus” she commented.

      Seeing her cat ears twitch, Yang couldn’t resist. Gently, she reached out and caressed them, making sure to not to squeeze. Blake looked up in confusion. “Yang what’re you--?”

     “Your ears are pretty cute you know that?” Yang said happily.

     “Be gentle! They’re very sensitive!” She let out a soft cry.

     “Hehehe” Yang continued her merciless assault. When she finally reached the tips, Blake shuddered.

     “Sorry, I might have gotten a little carried away there,” Yang ruefully smiled.

Blake’s eyes slowly opened, a burning intensity coloring them.

     “Sorry about this, but it’s your fault.” Before Yang could respond, Blake inched up and softly touched her lips to hers. Lips parting gently, she let the mood take her, Yang closed her eyes blissfully in response. Time seemed to stop, and for that one moment the only people in the world were the both of them. All too soon, reality came back.

     Slowly breaking the kiss, Blake inched back to look at Yang, her hands against her chest.

     “Can’t really blame Weiss, that’s quite pleasant,” she said with a low purr.

      Yang chuckled.

     “Totally. You think they’ll let us take some stuff over when we go to Atlas?” the sudden change of topic startled her. Blake considered the thought, turning so she could lean against Yang.

     “Possibly, but I assume we won’t need much more than our basic stuff they’ll provide us. What did you want to take?”

     “Couple of CD’s I just got, oh and a camera, I totally want to take pictures of the Royal Palace. Y’know, what with me never having been there. Plus I can get you to come with me” she smirked mischievously, her arms wrapping around Blake, who proceeded to roll her eyes.

     “I won’t say no, but remember we’re going there with a mission, we’re only going to have so much time to investigate.” She said sternly. “But, if it’s during break time I don’t mind going with you” she amended with a small smile.

     Yang gave a sudden fist pump.

    “Alright! I suddenly have a lot of energy, let’s go check if my suit is repaired yet! I just wanna pop in on our dear old quartermaster before she pops in on me. She gets real scary.” The quartermaster aboard the ship was a saucy and easily irritated engineer named Morrigan, short, with a patience to match, she was constantly barking at Yang for breaking gizmos and contraptions.

“Yeah, I’m sure that’ll endear you to Morrigan. You know she gets angry every time you damage your suit, not sure that she cares it wasn’t necessarily your fault either” Blake sighed, and began to stand. “Alright then, let’s go, maybe I can see if mine is ready as well”. A nanosuit for Blake had been in the works, but due to her semblance it was just a bit more complex. She had opted to take general light armor instead when she went scouting, letting the engineer’s work on the suit as they saw fit.

“Cool! Afterward we can pop in on Ruby, I bet she’s nervous about this whole thing”.

             …………………………………………………………………………………

     “I’m totally not nervous. I know we get to meet the Queen, and you know, we get to go to the Royal Palace at her guest, but I’m calm about it, collected.” Ruby paced the length of her room, biting her nails as Weiss sat on the bed, watching her with an amused expression.

     “Yeah, I can tell, you’re the picture of calmness”.

     “Erben said he’d tell us when we’re scheduled to depart, it’ll probably be sometime tomorrow, if the storm sweeping through the area finally clears. Oh, you think Morrigan has made any new weapons? I would loooove to try them out, I mean I love Crescent Rose,” she fondly patted the Scythe strapped to her back, “but new weapons always make me excited!”

     A resounding knock on the door stopped Weiss from making a smartass comment. Walking over, she opened the door to a beaming Yang, and a sleepy eyed Blake.

    “Oh great, the gang is all here” she said sarcastically.

    “Lighten up Weiss, the party isn’t awesome until we’re all here!” she made her way into the room, Blake yawning behind her.

     “We just saw Morrigan, she managed to make a quick patch on my suit, and even better news, Blake’s nanosuit is finally finished!” _She sure is energetic_ , Ruby thought.

     “You’re lucky she didn’t throttle you right there Yang, she was saving that as a surprise. You just had to go peeking under covers didn’t you,” Blake supplied.

     “Yup! I survived so it’s all good. Oh, you’re stuff is ready too Ruby, and Weiss, Morrigan made some upgrades to your Myrtenaster as well.” A Multi Action Dust Rapier, Weiss’ Myrtenaster was custom made from the Schnee Dust Corps. With the ability to load up to six cartridges of dust and use them synergistically in combat, it made for a formidable weapon in the hands of the heiress, having become a master in its use over the course of her missions and time at the academy.

     “Excellent. I was thinking I’d go ask Erben if he has set the time of departure, the skies seem to have cleared so I see no reason to delay” peering out of the sole window of the room, Weiss scanned the sky.

     “I’m kind of eager to go as well. What do you guys think?” Ruby looked around for confirmation.

     “Fine, but unless it’s an immediate departure I’m taking a nap right after. I’ve been up too long” Blake said through another yawn.

     “Alright let’s make it quick then”.

     They left the room and headed for the most likely place to find Erben at this hour: the bridge. Engineers and airmen skittered to and fro, doing their part to keep the ship up and stable. Not a glance was thrown their way as they walked towards the bridge. Ruby didn’t mind, she didn’t like much attention from crowds.

     Turning into the main corridor, the entrance to the bridge came into view, with a pair of sentries standing at attention by the door. They saluted as the group approached, the door opening to let them in. The bridge was always a sight, the crew manning their stations to keep everything running: the crew running the launch bay to keep ship returns and departures smooth, the navigators keeping track of wind patterns and weather, along with their destination. Then there was the group that manned the ship weaponry, both anti-ship and anti-surface (obviously this was Yang’s favorite portion), and then finally, there was the helm, at the front of the room in front of the ships massive viewport. Erben was standing there looking out.

     Walking over, they reached his side before addressing him.

“Commander,” the four acknowledged. He turned in mild surprise at their appearance.

     “Ladies, I’m going to go on a limb and say you’re here to find out if I’ve decided your departure time?”

“Yes sir”

     “I figured. I’m surprised you came so early, it’s barely sunset, I was going to let you rest until the morning, but since you’re so eager I suppose I should just tell you now. Our instruments say that the storm that was in the area should dissipate in the next few hours, so you should be clear to depart from the ship tomorrow morning. I have already given instructions that your armor and weapons be ready and loaded. Morrigan has surpassed my expectations again, your suits are all ready, and she has modified them some so they suit each of your own talents a little better. Yang, the APG has been repaired, and it’s also been improved, the drain on your aura should be lessened without losing the protection. This time you’ll have a little more time to pay attention to how much you have left” he said wryly. Yang gave a “hmph” and looked away. “We debated supplying all of you with one, but we figured they would only hamper your performance. Since you know you’re going to ship out, there’s no point in delaying, we can have you out on a transport in the morning. I recommend you take the rest of today to finish anything you need, and get some rest. You’ll have a rough month coming, so get your energy up. Now, is there anything else?" he asked, eyes going to each of the girls.

They all shook their heads; they all had what they came for.

     “Very well, then dismissed.” He smiled at them, and turned back towards the viewport.

Outside in the hall, Ruby was the first to talk.

     "I figured it was tomorrow, but hearing it is still a little weird”. They made their way back towards their quarters, footsteps resounding against the floor with every movement. The sun had already set, and the shadows of night draped the ship in darkness, the only light coming from the lamps and electricity running the ship’s systems.

     “Yeah, we should probably at least pack a bag with some things we really want, I don’t think a backpack will be much of a problem to take” Blake looked at her personal data terminal. “I do have a few things I’d like to have. I should go do that now, I don’t want to do it in the morning. Will you come with me Yang?” she asked, keeping a blank expression.

Yang smiled. “Sure, let’s just drop Ruby and Weiss off.”

“Sure thing”.

     As they got closer to Ruby (and by extension, Weiss’) quarters, Yang slowly hung back so she was paired with Ruby, while Weiss asked what Blake was planning to take.

     “So little sis, just thought you ought to know you two aren’t the only new item to come around” she waggled her eyebrows.

Ruby’s eye’s opened in surprise. “You mean the two of you? No way!”

     “Yup, it was a rather pleasant surprise, I didn’t expect Blake to actually tell me.”

     “So you knew she had a thing for you? I assume you at least feel the same way if you’re telling me. What, you were never planning on doing it yourself then?” she asked with intense curiosity.

     “I was never going to force the conversation on her. It probably would have been easier, true, but I was in no rush, if she was ever ready to do it, I would be happy to hear it.”

     “I can’t believe it! It’s so exciting!” she shook with barely contained happiness. “If only we weren’t departing so soon, we’d have more time to celebrate it together! Ah well, after we finish in Atlas, we can spend the time for it.”

     Yang laughed, “Whatever you want Ruby. Take care of Weiss, she can be rather, serious.” Ruby laughed at the understatement.

    “You don’t have to tell me twice. I’m already enjoying the time I’ve spent with her since I got back” she said happily.

    “What are you two going on about?” Weiss interrupted them. “We’re here you know” she indicated the door to Ruby’s room.

     “Ah, right. Well we’ll see you two tomorrow then Yang! Goodnight Blake,” Blake nodded at her. Ruby reached out and grabbed onto Weiss’ arm, pulling her inside.

     “You don’t have to be so pushy, I was planning on coming in anyway”. Smirking, Weiss sat on the lone bed, and slowly undid the lacings on her boots. Glancing up and seeing Ruby standing there, just staring, her smile turned mischievous. She patted the spot next to her on the bed. “Coming?”

Ruby’s faced colored. “You don’t mind?”

     “Well considering this might be the most peace we’ll get for a month, no, I don’t mind. So get over here,” she pulled Ruby towards her. Quickly leaning down to undo her boots, she turned off the lights before climbing onto the bed next to Weiss, and snuggled against her chest, arms going around her waist.

     “I’m looking forward to going to Atlas, I know it’s not for fun but, I’ve missed going on missions with you.” Ruby whispered.

     “It’s rather embarrassing you’re that straightforward you know.”

      Ruby peeked up at Weiss’ face, she couldn’t be sure, but she thought she saw blush coloring her face. Unable to help herself, she grinned.

     “We’re totally gonna kick that missions butt, then take a vacation. I miss dad, I’d like to introduce you someday. To my Uncle Qrow too, he’s such a badass, I’m sure you’ll like him.”

“Qrow?” Weiss eyebrows scrunched together. Where had she heard that name before?

“Yeah, will you come?”

     Weiss pretended to seriously think about it. “Sure, but you have to promise you won’t try any heroics while we’re in Atlas. I mean it, no shenanigans, okay?”

“Yeeees mother.” Weiss smacked her, causing Ruby to giggle.

      “I’ll be fine Weiss, I’m team leader after all.” Closing her eyes, her eager anticipation for tomorrow slowly began to ebb as her exhaustion caught up to her. She slept, safely tucked against Weiss.

………….………………………………………………………………………

      “It’s coming”, she whispered. She could feel the energy pulsate, like she had a horrible headache that tensed behind her temples. She had eventually gotten used to the sensation, but she could never get used to being pulled into her visions. They always felt so real. She groaned in pain, the pulses coming more frequently. She decided to kneel, in case the vision rendered her body unable to remain upright.

      Pain coming to a crescendo, her eyes opened wide, the whites of her eyes being the only thing visible. Images, sounds, smells all assaulted her senses as she tried to make sense of what she was seeing. She could hear cries, screams, the sound of metal clanging on metal, and the sound of gunfire. Trying to focus her mind, she attempted to stabilize the vision. Someone is fighting she realized, but where? Her disorientation finally settling, she looked around: she was in some sort of tunnel, the brick lined cavern dominated by channels of flowing water that gave an unholy smell. “The sewers?” the rats scurrying along jumping into the water seemed to agree with her assumption. She shuddered in disgust. “Of all places it had to be the bloody sewers” Lilyana muttered. The sound of ricocheting rounds made her jump. “What am I supposed to see?” She walked towards where she thought the sounds were coming; a massive cistern where the water pooled together came into view the longer she walked along. A brick archway signaled the entrance, the pool lined by iron bars circles a long distance around. On the other side, along a stretch of ground where the entrance of the sewers was marked, flashes of light indicated the source of the gunfire. The yells and cries began to become coherent.

     “No! Get behind me, they’re circling around! Damnit, how did they manage to get reinforcements? I thought you collapsed the other two entrances?!”

     “I did! I don’t know where they came from! We have bigger problems, we need to get a hold of one of those weapons and get it back to Morrigan, why are they piercing our suits?!” several shots followed in succession, the sound booming against the walls.

      “I don’t know, those blades don’t look like anything crafted in Atlas. Shit, they’re here, how are those explosive charges coming?!”

     “Just a few more seconds, hold them off for just a few more seconds!”

     “I said we wouldn’t die here, and hell if I’m gonna let these guys make me a liar. Let’s go!” Booming explosions rocked the cistern, flames brightening the cavern like sunlight.

     “Are these the assassins I wonder?” steeling herself she peered around the boxes that blocked her vision across the cistern, to where the fight seemed to be occurring. Squinting, she made out what seemed to be two groups; one in all black armor with an insignia of a moon bisected by a crimson scythe. Using varying weapons, they were attempting to hold off a small horde of heavily plated soldiers with masks that resembled the face of Grimm. The heavy soldiers wielded strange blades, glowing blue and single sided like a katana, and they were clearly pushing the group of three back slowly with every minute.

      “The white fang” she whispered. “How are they pushing them back so easily?” She carefully observed the blades the plated White Fang soldiers were using. Missing the black clad warrior with golden gauntlets, one of the soldiers’ blades missed and was angled to hit straight at the wall. Expecting the sword to shatter, she was startled when instead, the blade sheared straight through the brick wall as though it was paper.

      “How the hell?” she gasped. Across, the fourth soldier ran away from a wall she had been fiddling with. It seemed to be lined with strange blocks.

“It’s set! It’s going to detonate in seven seconds!” the fourth yelled.

     “That’s so damned slow!” yelled the one at the front of the fight, dodging the blades swinging at her while using her gauntlets to fire back. It was a strange weapon she hadn’t seen before. As she was trying to figure their origin, one of the walls shattered in an explosion, dust and debris raining down like hell.

      “Our exit is up, let’s go!” the gauntlet wielder yelled. She didn’t see the enemy charging at her, blade raised.

     “Yang! Move!!” came a terrified scream.

“No!” Lilyana screamed, and everything went white.

      She was blasted back into reality. Gasping for air, she lay on the floor, head pounding as though a drum were beating back and forth inside. With a trembling hand, she pushed herself into a sitting position. Leaning against her bed, she tried to calm herself, taking comfort in the roaring fire inside the fireplace. Breathing in and out, focusing on nothing, she slowly began to relax her tense muscles. Opening her eyes, she tried to clear her mind of the vision.

      “I refuse to believe I am sending them to their deaths,” she whispered. She moved over to a chair by the fire, wrapped her scarf around her neck and curled into a ball, wishing she could form a barrier against the outside world.

 

………………………………………………………………..

 

     The dimly lit hallways gave off an eerie atmosphere, the moonlight bathing the outside in a swath of white, the sound of footsteps resonated against the creaking shell of the ship. Commander Erben walked with a brisk pace towards the engineering department’s tech lab. The smell of machinery, oil and molten metal suffused the air before he even entered. The room was basically a factory for what gave the Sentinels their critical advantage over their adversaries: prototype technology. Only a few of the engineers were up, working on some idea or another. His concern lay with the head of the division. Walking towards the loudest part of the tech lab, he found his chief of engineering hammering away at a thin rod. Noticing him rather quickly, Morrigan took off her safety goggles and glanced at him.

“Commander, it’s a pleasure. To what do I owe the visit?”

“Evening Morrigan, I came to see if there was any progress on our project?”

     She sighed with clear exhaustion. “We’ve managed to stabilize the aura dispersion of the chosen weapon when infused with the aura of a subject. The projectiles however, are another matter. Though we can forcefully project an aura shield outward, the further it moves from its origin the more difficult it is to retain its general shape, and so it’s the same with our bullets. It may be possible to get around this by forcing the injected hyper energized aura particles into a small magnetized chamber to apply a repulsive force in a singular direction.  It might fire the ionized particles at a critical velocity.”

“In simpler terms?”

     “We haven’t managed to fire bullets from the weapons, but we may be able to make a sort of magnetic rail gun to fire aura bullets instead of conventional firing mechanisms.”

     “Excellent. If we continue this schedule, the Aura Weapons should be ready for a live demonstration by the time Ruby’s team comes back from Atlas. Did you manage to stabilize the energy core?”

     “Indeed we did, the core reached optimal stability when placed inside the aura weapon prototype, reducing the drain of the users’ aura by almost seventy percent. The small size of the core allows for multiple of them to be carried, which is a bonus. A small prototype of the energy efficient core was placed inside Specialist Schnee’s Myrtenaster, so she should see some marked performance in the use of her dust.”

     “Excellent work Morrigan. I’ll leave you to continue, but make sure to get some rest.” She nodded. As he turned to leave, he spotted a crimson rod on the table. Eyes scrunched in curiosity, he reined it in before it got the better of him.

 


	6. Departure

Chapter 6: Departure

 

            The landing pad was a bustle of airmen refueling and refitting the Hellions and smaller air transports. One in particular was waiting for a group of rowdy huntresses, ready to be piloted by the saucy Jordan that had transported Blake in her retrieval mission. Arriving at the landing pad, Ruby, Blake, Weiss, and Yang were practically bouncing on the balls of their feet with excitement. At least Ruby was. Leading them forward was Erben, who was mildly amused at their lack of composure. Turning, he decided to give them parting words.

            “Before you go, I thought I should tell you I’ve decided to have reinforcements sent along with you, they’re still on their way here but they should arrive in Atlas shortly after you.”

     “Aw c’mon we don’t need help!” Ruby complained.

     “It’s Pyrrha’s team” he said with a raised eyebrow.

     “Why didn’t you say so! Why aren’t they here already?!” she quipped, doing a complete 180. “Oh I can’t wait to see Pyrrha!”

     “You know, you changed your stance real quickly there” Weiss pointed out wryly.

     “It’s been known to occur,” came the haughty reply.

     "Alright alright that’s enough,” Erben stopped them. “Your transport is waiting. Keep in mind that this mission is very important, if it turns out to be the Queens suspicions are right. Stay on your toes, and keep a level head. Ruby, keep them together, do your job as leader and you’ll be alright.” Ruby’s chest puffed up with pride, much to Weiss’ amusement, as she saluted Erben.

     “You got it boss!” smiling, she trotted over the helicopter and pulled the door open to get in. Beckoning towards the transport, she yelled for everyone to get in.

     “Well, this should be interesting,” Blake muttered.

     “I hope it’s fun!” Yang chuckled, as she walked over with her partner, Weiss trailing behind her. Within minutes they were airborne, and as Ruby glanced out of the window with unabashed excitement, she couldn’t help but remember the first time she saw Jaune aboard the airship on its way to beacon. He had been airsick then, much to Ruby and Yang’s amusement.

     “I wonder if Jaune still gets airsick, I wouldn’t want to be in that chopper if he still does,” Ruby chuckled. The others gave small smiles as they thought of their companions from JNPR.

    “Well ever since he started dating Pyrrha he does seem to be made of slightly tougher stuff. Emphasis on slightly,” Yang commented with a grin.

    “I still couldn’t believe that it took Jaune that long to realize Pyrrha’s feelings, the blockhead. I hope Pyrrha is doing okay, I haven’t seen her since we left Beacon, I only heard that she stayed to help Ozpin, never knew with what though,” Ruby muttered, eyebrows narrowed in thought.

    “Must be important if she was asked by the headmaster, I don’t think I’ve ever really heard the operations or doings that Ozpin is behind,” Blake supplied.

    “Oh! My Uncle Qrow is always meeting with him, I think I’ll bug him about it next time I see him. I wonder where he’s at now.” The sound of the helicopters whirring propeller slowly drowned out Ruby’s thoughts, and she decided to close her eyes, she had time to rest until they arrived at Atlas, she thought. As she drifted off into slumber, the last thing she saw was her companions, slowly nodding off. _How nice,_ she thought, _I hope the mission to Atlas goes well._

 

            …………………………………………………………………………………

      “Uh, Pyrrha? Have you seen my shield?” Jaune called out from the teams room.

      “You left it with the weapon smith to repair Jaune, remember?” Pyrrha said with a small smile. She couldn’t help but think his frustrated face was cute.

       “Ugh, right, um, yeah I should probably go get that” he said in embarrassment.

      “We have to go soon Jaune, I’ll go get it, you finish getting your pack ready. I have to go make sure Nora and Ren are ready to go anyway, the hellion should be ready soon” she reminded him. She quickly walked over to kiss him on the cheek, and couldn’t help but smile at his reddening face. “See you later Jaune” came the smooth farewell.

      “How does she do that?” he muttered, trying to pull himself together. Looking around for the rest of his armor, he began to don the remaining pieces. Having obtained significantly more advanced armor since joining the Sentinels, the sleek silver armor plating actually made him look, well, cool, if he said so himself. He hadn’t changed his weaponry, he was more than happy to wield the heirloom, and it had served him well enough in the past. Looking out the window, he couldn’t help but reminisce. It had been a tough road to get here, but he had managed to live through it, despite everything. He had survived the Grimm attack on Vale, constant assaults on rebels and White Fang, and had come out the better for it. He had even started dating Pyrrha, much to his delight. Apparently she had harbored a crush for him while at school he hadn’t noticed, like an absolute blockhead, he thought. He had been too caught up in his one sided crush for Weiss, which went nowhere. It hadn’t been hard to let go of that particular dead end, there was so much to do he almost never thought about it. Pyrrha was happy a lot more often now, having not only taken on a worthy endeavor helping Ozpin and the Sentinels when she could, but her relationship with him seemed to buoy her mood. He was grinning stupidly when the captain of the ship, Captain Reiselle came to inform him that the aircrew was ready to transport them to Atlas.

      “Jaune,” she said with a piercing look, “I hope you’re ready, the rest of your team is standing by.”

      “Ah, right commander, sorry, be right there!” he hastily began to grab his things as she exited the cabin. Captain Reiselle was the officer in charge of the newly christened _Elementa_ , the newest in an advanced line of destroyers. While not the strongest ship of the line, the armament she boasted could give any opposing vessel a hell of a fight. Shaking himself out of his admiration, he picked up his bags and headed for the exit. Accidently bumping into the dresser next Pyrrha’s bed, he cringed as an object came crashing down. Opening one eye to see the damage, he saw it was a small vase.

      “Damn, I just got that for her too,” he said unhappily. On the ground lying in the shattered pieces of vase, was the single white flower he had picked for her while in the wilds of the country, its leaves twisted and torn. Leaning down to pick it up, he hissed as a piece of glass cut into his hand. “Ow,” he muttered. Pulling the flower out of its glass prison, he looked at what remained of the flower, and couldn’t help but stare at its’ petals, lightly smeared crimson. A single drop of blood slowly started making its way down the stem.

      “Oh crap! Gotta run,” leaving the flower on the dresser, he sprinted out to join the rest of his team mates. “Ruby better appreciate this,” he muttered. He hated the cold.


	7. The Beginning

Chapter 7: The Beginning

     “Holy hell it’s cold” shivered Yang.

“You didn’t think Atlas was known for its summer beaches did you?” Weiss rolled her eyes.

“Well no, but still, I didn’t think I’d be freezing my ass off this bad,” came through chattering teeth.

   “It’s okay, we’re almost inside, you can warm up in there,” Blake said helpfully, her hand in Yang’s, warming it by making circles with her thumb. They had arrived in the Aeroport in central Atlas without much trouble, and had been met by one of the Queen’s Guard, who though politely yet in a no nonsense manner asked them to follow him to the waiting vehicle to take them to the palace. Being the Queen’s guests was already impressive, but on top of that they were also her guests and invited to stay within one of the palace wings was mind boggling. Ruby had hardly been able to contain her bobbing up and down the whole way there. Inside the car, the four of them looked outside as the streets of central Atlas passed them by, with people moving in and out of the many shops and houses, the architecture a style unique to the north, focused on conserving heat. Having never been there before, Yang, Ruby and Blake were all fascinated by the goings on.

    “I’ve always wanted to try the baked goods here,” commented Blake, as they passed a bakery.

“Me too, though I think the candy shop would be on the top of my list rather than the bakery. Oh, is that the palace?” Ruby pointed. In the distance the tall pointed spires of the Royal Palace loomed over the rest of the city. Not only did it house the Royal family of Atlas, but also the rest of the governmental institutions, the parliamentary branch that governed the general masses, the judicial institutions as well.

    “That’s it alright, it’s also where we are going to stay while we’re here, courtesy of her Majesty. Behave yourself Ruby,” Weiss said pointedly, “I know it’s your first time here, but don’t forget we’re here to keep the Queen safe. The Royal Guard should brief us on things we need to know either after we settle in, or once we arrive.”

“Yeah yeah, I know, I’m serious I swear,” Ruby puffed up her chest, causing Weiss to smirk.

The car began to slow as they reached the steps leading to the entrance of the palace.  A servant reached and opened the door from outside. Bowing, he indicated for them to step out.

“Welcome to Atlas, Ladies, I am Jon, the head steward here. The Queen awaits you in the throne room. Please, follow me, and do be hasty, it wouldn’t do to keep her majesty waiting,” he said, as he brusquely turned around and began to head towards the entrance. They all filed out of the car and followed suit. The guards at the entrance stood at attention, and looked them over before returning to their observation

“Well aren’t they friendly” muttered Ruby, as she trailed behind the rest of her teammates. The palace was massive, it dominated the center of the city and was the crown jewel in terms of architecture and splendor, the tall crystalline spires reflecting the Suns’ rays in a spectacular fashion. The inside was no less impressive, intricate inlays adorned the walls, where the city’s finest artists proudly displayed the fruits of their labor. Yang was doubly careful not to bump into anything, even the small vases on display probably cost more than she could afford, Erben would yell her ear off if she ended up owing the Queen some money before the first day even ended. The thought had her inching away from the walls. After what seemed like an eternity, they finally reached the massive doors that indicated the Queen’s throne room. The steward stepped to the side as he turned.

“I don’t know how familiar you are all with protocol, but you must curtsy when you reach the foot of the Crystal Throne. There is usually much more ceremony to attend, but the urgency of your call allows us to, ignore it for now,” he said with what seemed to be distaste. “Failure to show the proper respect to her Majesty is a grave insult,” he warned, eyes flashing. “The ladies of the North are taught in a manner different from our southern neighbors. Miss Schnee, if you would give them a quick demonstration?”

Weiss cleared her throat and stepped forward. To Ruby’s surprise, gracefully like a swaying flower, Weiss curtsied, hands slightly upward, head bowed.

“Excellent!” The steward clapped his hands. “Please do your best to imitate the Lady Schnee. And without further ado, you must go in, you are already expected. Prepare yourselves.” Without another word, he wrenched open the massive doors to the throne room. Scrambling to get themselves in order, Ruby and the rest filed in. The massive room was full to the brim with people. The ceiling adorned with chandeliers that dwarfed her room lights, windows were beautiful mosaics of heroes past, but what commanded the room’s attention was the Crystal Throne. It was quite literal in terms of name, the throne appeared to be a fierce crystalline dragon, flowing spines trailing back towards its tail, delicate but sharp wings seeming to envelope whoever sat upon it. As they approached, Ruby couldn’t help but feel nervous, so many people staring at her made her slightly squeamish. Weiss on the other hand, was radiating confidence with every step, her head held high. Concentrating on how that confidence was incredibly alluring, Ruby followed. Yang was barely holding her composure, she hated crowds, and a few whispers from Blake were all that held her in check. As they approached the foot of the throne, they did their best imitation of the curtsy Weiss had shown them. For having been the first time they did it, Ruby thought they executed it rather well.

“Your Majesty,” Weiss spoke, her head still bowed, “We humbly answer your summons, and are here to aid in whatever situation requires our attention.”

The room grew quiet, all eyes shifting from Weiss to the Queen.

“Young Lady Schnee, a pleasure to see you again. I am delighted you managed to make it back to your allies so quickly and return here,” her gaze shifted over the rest of them, icy blue eyes seeming to pierce into their very being. She smiled, “This is the first time I am meeting the rest of you, but I have heard much of your exploits. Ruby Rose, the leader of the team, brave, but determined always slipping in and out of shadows, never where the enemy looks but always in plain sight,” Ruby beamed at her words, a slight blush coloring her face from embarrassment. “Blake, fierce and relentless, with an understanding of tactics that would rival our own generals,” Blake bowed her head in response. “And Yang, whose ferocity is unmatched even by the strongest warriors, but whose heart never wavers. It is a pleasure to have you in my domain, and I look forward to convening with you all in the coming days.”

“Yes, your majesty, we are looking forward to it.”

            With another smile that could melt the very snow the country was famous for, Queen Lilyana nodded, and motioned her handmaiden forward. “Take them to their rooms, they were assembled in great haste and must be tired.” The handmaiden bowed, and moved towards Weiss and the others. “Get some rest ladies, the days ahead will be long, and will no doubt constantly test you.” Ruby couldn’t help but shiver at the Queen’s voice as she gave her parting words, as though they were an omen. Executing another curtsy, they filed out of the throne room, the eyes of the people in the room trailing their every step. Up on the Crystal Throne, the Queen’s gaze never wavered from the one clad in red.

 

 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

            “That, was the most nerve wracking thing, ever.” Yang sputtered as Blake laughed at her expression.

            “It wasn’t that bad, you get used to it,” Weiss chided.

            “Oh easy for you to say ice princess, we weren’t brought up knowing these people,” Weiss rolled her eyes. “But at least it’s over for now, I can’t wait to see our rooms.” They chattered on as they followed the Queen’s handmaiden into the west wing of the palace, the corridors seemingly longer than the one that they had used to enter the palace. Arriving at a pair of doors inlaid with artistry of dragons and castles, the handmaiden turned around.

            “This is where the Queen has asked you stay m’ladies, you will find the rooms fully furnished and hopefully to your liking. They both have washing facilities as well so you need not look for one. Should you get hungry, the servants will bring you your meals at scheduled hours, or if you must you may visit the cooks in the kitchen and see if they have any to spare.” Bowing, she prepared to dismiss herself. On instinct, Blake stopped her.

            “Excuse me but, what is your name?” The handmaiden turned to look at her, green eyes peeking from under her veiled hood.

            “I am Asha, Lady Belladonna, second handmaiden to Queen Lilyana. Did you require something?”

            "Yes, is there a library where I may obtain books for research?"

            "Yes, in the Northern tower you will find Master Wilhelm, he is the keeper of the Library, and will gladly admit you in," Asha said in a mild voice.

            "Excellent. Do you know anything about why we are here Asha?" Blake asked suddenly. As if tired of conversing, the handmaidens eyes narrowed, focusing on Blake with an intensity that left her unnerved. 

            "I am not privy to my Queen's thoughts, or why she would want you here. The reasons for your presence are beyond my station. Good day." Bowing crisply, she dismissed herself. Blake pursed her lips as she watched her leave.

            “Blake? What is it?” Weiss asked.

          “I don’t know, but that girl seemed, off to me. Like those who are distracted, but with purpose, not idleness. There was a very slight undercurrent of something, dark, when she was with us. Hostility?” She wondered, losing herself in thought.

            “Well we can think about it later, for now let’s get settled in, I expect the Queen to summon us at any time, we still need to get debriefed by her guard or her spy agency, whichever of the two will be handling our investigation. Let’s freshen up, and check our gear. Pyrrha’s team should arrive tomorrow if not later today, we should at least be able to greet them.” Weiss chose the left room, and indicated to the right one. “Yang, Blake, ill expect you two to want to take that one. Come on Ruby, we have preparations to finish.” Blake and Yang looked at each other with a smirk.

            “Alright guys, let’s get a little rest, we can go see Pyrrha, Jaune, Nora and Ren when they arrive, grab some food, and then do what we do best!” Ruby’s enthusiasm was almost contagious. Almost. Smiling, Yang and Blake shuffled into their room, shutting the door with an audible creak. The northern wind was blowing outside, carrying the sounds of the city like a frozen whisper, as the moon bathed the city in a coat of white.


	8. Echoes of Legend

Chapter 8: The Echoes of Legend

She walked with all haste down the hallway, toward her meeting location with her contact. She hadn’t liked how keen eyed the Faunus was, it made her uneasy. As she rounded the corner of the hall, she bumped into something that felt like a brick wall. Careening back while rubbing her nose, she looked up. It was the captain of the Royal Guard.

“You’d do well to pay more attention to where you’re going Asha, even if the knights are patrolling the palace, you never know what you might find in the dark” he said ominously. She shivered at his words. At more than six feet tall, the captain seemed like a giant of a man in his ceremonial armor. “How did our new guests behave? Anything suspicious?” he demanded, bringing her mind back to the meeting at hand.

“Not yet, they seem to be exactly what the missives claimed, Hunters from the Sentinel group. The Faunus, though, she seems familiar. I swear I’ve seen reports of her with the White Fang.” The captain waved his hand in dismissal.

“Ozpin already knows of her involvement and secession from that group, it might not mean anything.” Scratching his beard, he reconsidered. “However, discounting it might not be a good idea,” he said grimly. “Keep an eye on her, we can’t let any bit of information escape our grasp, we will keep the queen safe at any cost.”

Asha nodded vehemently, hand going instinctively to the necklace resting against her chest. Turning around, she headed toward her lodgings, before she was missed for too long. The other maids and handmaidens were sometimes too curious for their own good.

 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“So Lieutenant, what, exactly are we here to do?” Weiss said frigidly as they walked through the alleys near the market place of the old district. The moon hung high, its’ light bathing the city as their shadows danced from building to building. Having been unable to get much sleep, she wasn’t in a very happy mood. Poverty was evident everywhere she looked, beggars in the street, rundown buildings enduring, children who had looks of hunger. She was no stranger to seeing this sort of scene, but she had never been comfortable seeing it, regardless.

“We are going to investigate a merchant’s house, my Lady, we have information he may be conspiring with groups outside the city. We have been given permission to search the house for any contraband and hopefully, we’ll find clues or evidence pointing to my Queen’s enemies,” informed Lieutenant Wynn, one of the officers from the guard. She had a sweet face, which hid her deadly skills with a blade, and had volunteered to go with the team, as she had been a fan of theirs for a while.

“I see. Well, let’s get this over with then.” The house came into sight. It looked more like a Mansion than a house. For a two story building it was quite large, windows inlaid with mosaics, and the walls looked coated with expensive material. The gate leading to its courtyard was unlocked, and it surprisingly made no sound as Lieutenant Wynn slowly pulled it open. Noticing Yang look at the house with distaste, Weiss turned to look at the rest of her group. “Ruby, you’re with me, Yang, Blake, take the rear of the house. If whoever is in there has any indication that we’re here, I don’t want them escaping.” Yang and Blake nodded. Tapping her gauntlets, they extended with a whirr, and she cocked them as the shells loaded. Blake unsheathed her gun blade, darkness moving across her skin as she made sure her aura was active. Quietly as their gear would allow, they went off towards the rear of the house. Ruby was muttering things about her position as leader being usurped, while Wyn offered to try and infiltrate the house through the upper floors. Nodding, Weiss gave her the go ahead. As Wyn jumped onto the house to find an entrance, Weiss turned to Ruby.

“No heroics Ruby, this is a simple detain and investigate. So just, stay behind me, okay?”

Ruby gave her a raised eyebrow.

  
            “You know I’ve probably seen more combat than you have, right? I know how this is supposed to work” she grumbled. Softening, Weiss reached for her hand.

            “Sorry, you’re probably right, I just don’t want any hiccups this early into our mission here. We got this, you watch my back, and this will be over before they know it.” Enthusiasm returning, Ruby nodded, and pulled out Crescent Rose, extending the deadly scythe. Bullets would probably do more harm than good, in those tight quarters. Taking a deep breath, Weiss motioned onward. “Alright, let’s go.” Positioning themselves at the entrance, and keeping out of side of the window, Weiss primed her Myrtenaster to use Fire elemental dust. Exhaling, she counted to three, and pierced the door with her rapier. The door exploded off its hinges inward with a loud bang, immediately re-priming her blade to Ice elemental dust, the two rushed in, weapons at the ready. The occupant inside, was not. Sputtering his drink, the little bald man with the egg shaped face panicked and tried backing up. Instead, he fell back as his chair could not stay up with his movement. Tumbling backwards, he rolled smack against a wall. Instantly Ruby was in front of him, scythe against his neck as he coiled back in alarm.

            “Hey there short stuff, I wouldn’t try anything funny if I were you.” Ruby smiled at him. Deciding not to go into how calling someone short when she herself was not very tall was nothing but ironic. Moving to stand in front of the sputtering man, Weiss pointed her weapon at him.

           “We have good reason to believe this house is being used by people who support the overthrow of the Queen. You’re going to be detained until this house has been thoroughly searched. Do not offer any resistance. Got it?”

            The man looked at her, face pale. “I haven’t done nothin! I found this house! This stuff is mine!” he whined. Eyes flashing, Weiss placed her rapier closer to his face, his eyes began to cross from looking at the tip.

            “What do you mean, you found this house?” she demanded.

 “It was empty when I got here! I waited it out, and no one’s been here for days! So me and my friends decided to take it over. We all agreed it was mine!” he said angrily.

“Shit, if this house does have anything from the terror group or white fang, the original tenants might be long gone.” Wynn said as she strolled through the door way that lead to the rest of the house. “The top floor is clear, there’s a locked room up there that I think we should check out though. I saw Yang and Blake on my way to this,” she looked around, nose twitching from the smell of spilt wine, “living room. They were sifting through documents and books that were in the back rooms.” Looking at the man staring at them with hatred on the floor, she shook her head in disgust.

“House rats. I’m going to place him under arrest for now, my lord captain can interrogate him about his stay here. We need any and all information. Hopefully, Yang and Blake find something.

            As she finished her words, Yang came through the door leading to the back rooms. “I found a note half burned in the fireplace, looks like it wafted out before it finished burning,” she held up the note, charred and half eaten from the flames. Walking over, Weiss took it from her hands.

                        _Everything is being moved to the High Adytum. You’ll find the—_

Weiss’ eyebrows wrinkled in confusion. “High adytum? As in a temple sanctuary?” she looked at Wynn for confirmation. Wynn nodded, “That’s what it means, however there’s only one temple in the city and that’s where people pray to the Maidens of Winter, it’s a single ovular room and very public, with several guards to keep people away from the altars. It doesn’t make sense that they’d go there” she said, eyes closed in thought. “Maybe I should bring this to my lady Queen, she might understand more than we can.” Mulling it over, Weiss nodded.

            “That might be for the best, though we should definitely inform the intelligence service and the guard. Yang did you and Blake find anything else?”

            “No, we were about to check the locked room before finishing up. However, there were odd burn marks on the wall, kind of like, a blow torch? But more like, a really hot blade cut through a wall, which, is really odd now that I think about it.” Yang’s frown deepened as she spoke.

            “Well, let’s check the sealed room for now. Wynn we can finish up here, you can take the house sitter there to the cells at the castle. I’ll send Ruby with you, just in case.” Wynn nodded as Ruby closed her Scythe.

            “Let’s get a move on then Wynn! I wanna race back, they always find good stuff when I’m not there,” Ruby motioned impatiently. Wynn held back a grin and nodded, hand hauling the little bald man by the collar.

            “Alright there sitter, get a move on.” He grumbled as he was forced out of the door. Weiss looked on as they left, exhaustion creeping in. Sighing, she turned to follow Yang upstairs, where she hoped the closed room held more clues to this mess.

            …………………………………………………………………………………………..

The wind began to howl outside, the snowy gusts battering her window.  Lilyana watched her city below, the sea of lights twinkling in the darkness. Lost in thought, she watched as the gate opened, a lone figure passing through. It was the one she had asked to be sent with the huntresses. Stomach tightening, her hand went to the sapphire at the base of her throat, a familiar gesture when she felt uneasy

“What awaits me Mother? I wonder if this was all part of my destiny as well,” she said to herself. She knew exactly why someone wanted her dead, but it wasn’t her secret to give. Her eyes flickered toward the jeweled pommel of the _Euphoria,_  it's azure fire blazing in the darkness.The lineage of the blood of Draken was very powerful, and there were forces in the world that forever craved power. She knew this. “What was the old man thinking, when he split such a power,” she whispered, eyes glossed over as she remembered the story. The situation was spinning more beyond her control, and the time where she wouldn’t have a choice about telling the information to the girls seemed to be coming closer. Gripping her sapphire a little bit harder than necessary, she spun on her heals and prepared to go down to her guards.

            …………………………………………………………………………………………….

            “The High Adytum?” Lilyana’s eyebrows drew in confusion. That was a place she hadn’t heard of in a very long time. Almost no one even recalled the name; it was usually called the old temple. Remembering its location, her eyes opened wide in understanding. _And so we come full circle,_ she thought. “It does refer to the sanctum of a temple, but there was never such a place in the temple of the Winter Maidens.” The team’s shoulders sagged in disappointment. They were currently surrounding a holographic map of Atlas that was situated in the Queen’s war room, with maps and texts littering the walls and tables. This is where she consulted her generals and admirals in times of strife, blades adorning the master seat behind her.

“However, I am aware of a location once called the High Adytum.” Their eyes perked up at once, and she allowed herself a small smile. “Long ago, when the city was first built, our ancestors built a temple to serve as the center of the city. Our tribe was first and foremost, keepers of knowledge. They understood well that knowledge was power, and power, if carelessly used, could be disastrous. They had seen firsthand what desire for power wrought, suffering slavery and death at the hands of warlords, bandits and warriors all seeking relics and treasures that could make them masters of all. In this temple, they planned to guard their greatest secret: a stone, said to be imbued with the power of the seasons themselves, true elemental magic, echoes of the creation of our world, unlike our dust, or auras, and stronger than both,” looking up, their attention was focused on her every word. “Or so the legend goes, at least,” She finished with a smile. “While the stone itself is a legend, the Adytum is not. I don’t think you’re going to like where it is” she said apologetically.

Weiss groaned, “Please don’t tell me it’s in the sewers”

“I did say you weren’t going to like it.” The sewers of Atlas were famous for being a mix of new and ancient. Parts of the extensive system were as old as the city, and it was rumored if you got lost in there, getting out was near impossible. That and they contained everything a standard sewer did.

Cringing, Weiss reluctantly nodded. “We can be ready to investigate the location of the Adytum as early as tomorrow, your highness.” Lilyana nodded.

“I will ask my servants to locate a copy of the map from the archives. It’s my hope the architects that expanded on the system updated their maps as they built it. Your back up team should also be ready to deploy in shortly after you descend.” Weiss nodded.

“Excellent, their help could be critical. I’ll start preparing our gear.” Bowing, Weiss and the rest of the team exited the war room, as the Queen looked on after them with an unreadable expression.

……………………………………………………………………………………….

            “Welcome, Lady Pyrrha, Ren, Jaune, Nora, to the Kingdom of Atlas.” The steward bowed as the four descended from the landing pad at the aeroport. Their escort cruiser was already departing back to the sentinel base. Nodding at the steward, Pyrrha was eager to get on to the castle.

            “Thank you for the welcome sir, we are eager to assist in any way we can” she said diplomatically. The steward gave a gentle smile full of approval, and motioned them towards the waiting car.

            “We welcome the help you offer, and I’m sure you’ll be happy to meet with the other team of huntresses who arrived a few days ago. The red one was eager for your meeting, as I recall.”

            Pyrrha smiled, “I’ve missed her too, and it’s been too long. Let’s not waste any time then.” She began walking towards the vehicle. Behind her, Nora was dancing in circles around Ren.

            “Look Ren! That building is completely covered in snow! It’s so cold here, do you think they have heaters? Oh of course they have heaters this is Atlas, they’d be crazy not to. Oh! Oh! Look over there!” she jabbered seemingly incoherently. Ren seemed to be taking it all in stride, nodding at his partner as though she wasn’t being incoherent. Jaune smiled in amusement, how the hell Ren never got exhausted being around Nora he’d never understand. He looked after Pyrrha’s retreating figure, eyes wistful as he fingered the box in his pocket.

            “Wonder if I’ll even get a chance to ask,” he sighed. Realizing he was being left behind, he hurried to catch up. The snow descended graceful as a swan, and as the wind began to pick up, the howls of wolves echoed in the distance.


	9. Chapter 9: The Dark Below

Chapter 9: The Dark Below

            “Well here it is,” Wynn indicated. In a dusty abandoned alley in the old quarter of the city, the girls all surrounded the lone manhole at the end of the walk way. Weiss had a grimace on her face as she looked at the metal grating covering it with distaste. She hated getting dirt on her clothes, armored or not. They had departed the castle the day following their discussion with Queen Lilyana, eager to make any headway into an investigation that had the intelligence department on edge. Wynn had taken them as soon as the team had finished their preparations: Yang’s suit had been repaired and refitted with her APG, Blake had received her specially modified nanosuit a day after, along with lighter variations for Ruby and Weiss that kept their signature combat dress appearance. Armor of any significant weight would only slow them down, and they relied on their agility to get them through a bind.

            “This is the closest I can get you to the tunnels that lead to the old temple, those run a bit deeper than can be accessed from up here” Wynn told them. Weiss sighed as Yang and Ruby began removing the grate. The mission debrief that morning had been simple: enter the tunnels and make their way towards what they assumed was the High Adytum. Engagement of hostiles was to be the last thing they do, they needed any and all information about the group inside. If said group was actually located there. As such, recon and analysis was their primary focus. This made their job harder, which made her very anxious. Taking out targets stealthily was one thing, but engaging in recon, with unknown forces, unknown surroundings but what old maps could give was not her choice of battlefield. She had seen so many friends and family die as she grew up, with White Fang and terrorists coming after them relentlessly. She had no desire to see more of those dear to her fall to violence. Sadly, the world they lived in was an unforgiving place. Glancing at Ruby’s slender frame, Weiss hardened her resolve, this mission would succeed, and she would see them all home.

            “Thanks for the help, from the maps I can only guess getting to where we might need to go will take us, maybe a few hours. If we’re not out within half a day, we might need reinforcements sent down there. Do you know when Pyrrha’s team is set to arrive?”

            “They arrived at the palace a short while ago, as soon as they’re good to go I’ll see that they’re sent your way.”

           “Excellent thank you. Yang, take point, I’ll take rear guard. Keep your eyes and ears open,” Weiss instructed. Nodding, Yang descended into the sewers first. Luck had been on her side, at least here. The sewers in this particular section had been unused and as such, dry for the most part. The click clack sound of her boots on solid ground echoed down the tunnel. The darkness hid everything ahead of them, only pierced by the lances of light from their flashlights. “When we get closer to the temple, turn off your lights. We can’t afford to lose the element of surprise. This could turn into the worst possible scenario, unknown location, terrain, enemy numbers, positions, we have to be as alert as we can. Ruby if this temple is of any decent size there will be elevated positions, get up to one and provide cover. You’ll have to be our eyes. Blake and I will keep Yang’s flank secure.” They nodded, all serious and alert. They came to a bend, and as they turned they encountered their first problem: the tunnel ahead split into two.

“Which one do we take Weiss?” Yang turned and asked. Frowning, Weiss pulled out the maps from her satchel. Laying them out on the ground, she tried to make sense of where they were.

“It looks like we’re here, at this junction,” she pointed at a ‘Y’ split on the map that divided the path in two. “The right one, seems to lead to the exit piece of the old aqueduct that used to run in the lower portion of the city. The left, seems to lead to the more extensive tunnels. So, left it is, I’m pretty sure. Let’s leave a mark to let Pyrrha’s team know which way to take.” Nodding, Ruby cut out an arrow pointing to the left tunnel. Satisfied, she motioned on. Onwards they descended, as the sound of rushing water began to sound, the darkness filled the empty spaces they had occupied.

                  ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                  She sheathed Miló onto her back behind her shield, deciding to keep her weapon in rifle form. She bent down to tighten the laces to her light plated boots, ensuring they would not hinder her movements. Next to her Jaune inspected his Crocea Mors, the blade upgraded and sharpened to a razor by their ships weapon master, and resident smith. He grinned as he began twirling it, then just like clockwork it slipped from his grasp. With a yelp, he jumped backwards to avoid the blade, Pyrrha lightly activated her semblance to stop the blade just short of the ground.

                  “Jaune, please be careful with your weapon, you just got it back,” she sighed. Reaching out, she grabbed the blade by the hilt and handed it back to him.

                  “Right, sorry Pyrrha,” he chuckled nervously. She loved how he was always so jittery before a mission, but during became more of the team leader she knew he had in him. She got up and went to him. Grabbing his hand she tried to reassure him.

                  “It’s just providing back up for Ruby and her team, no need to be too worked up. Even if this is one of the rare times we get to work on a mission together,” she smiled. She took his hand in hers, “Looks like all your stuff is ready to go, and Ren, Nora are outside waiting to head out. Shall we?” With a goofy smile, he nodded.

                  “Yeah, this will be no problem!” skip back in his step, he placed his sword in its sheath and hand in hand with Pyrrha, they set out to meet with the rest of their team.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

            Wynn was waiting for them as the jeep dropped them off at the old quarter. The sun was setting overhead, casting long shadows on the buildings as they passed by. The guardsman had an unhappy look on her face, and her lips were pursed as they approached the sewer entrance she was standing by. Other guards milled around, working at a table had been set up with what looked to be radio equipment set up. Glancing at them, Jaune gave the lieutenant a questioning look as they approached.

            “Heya lieutenant, what’s going on?” Jaune asked her. Pyrrha was assuming something had gone wrong by the look of the radiomen’s faces, Ren silently checked the clips of his pistols as Nora happily began checking the shells in her Magnhild, currently in its grenade launcher form.

            “We lost radio contact with them an hour ago. We hope it’s because the tunnels run further down than our signal can be amplified, but it doesn’t mean I’m not worried. They should’ve still been able to check in as of a few hours ago by the engineers calculations, but they haven’t. I think we should prepare for a worst case scenario. As you know, the four of you are the main reinforcements for Ruby and her team. However I’ve been given the go ahead to send in a couple of her majesty’s Queensguard after you. However getting them to rendezvous here will take a bit more time. So for now, you four are it. Any questions on your objectives?”

            “Is our priority to extract them, or to assist them to further push in?”

            “That depends on the situation. Obviously, in the case where they are in combat, assess the situation and choose the best course of action. It would however, be immensely beneficial if Ruby’s team, succeeded, in their mission. However, like I implied, the decision will be yours on what you find the situation to be. Are you all ready?” Wynn asked, looking at each of them in turn. The four nodded, their faces serious. “Then take these,” she handed each of them an earpiece. “This is how we will communicate with you, as far as the signals will go. On your return the second we hear you we can properly respond.” They all put the earpieces on and headed for the edge of the sewer entrance. Pyrrha lightly grasped Jaune’s arm.

            “I’ll take point Jaune, if you don’t mind. You’d be better at guarding the rear with Ren than me. Besides, if Nora doesn’t get to hit something soon, I think she might just lose it” Pyrrha said with a small smile. She looked over at Nora, who was stroking her grenade launcher with a scary smile on her face.

            “You got it. Let’s keep our eyes and ears open guys.” Without another word, the four descended into the darkness below.

 

 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The High Adytum was huge, much bigger than any of them had expected. The top of the temple easily stood at a hundred feet high, and it still didn’t reach the ceiling of the massive cavern. Rigid but intricately inlaid columns lined the front of the temple, twin bon fires illuminating its entrance. The sewer passage put them a few dozen feet higher than the ground, giving them a decent vantage point. A long series of steps was the only visible way to the front of the temple. Pockets of debris littered the cavern floor leading to the stairs, pieces of what appeared to be collapsed pillars and boulders, potential cover for the girls to move up. Down below, shadows could be seen walking here and there.

            “Ruby, Blake, possible hostiles down below,” Weiss pointed towards the moving shadows. Looking around, she saw a few rocks jutting out against the wall up high, on the far side of the temple, they seemed long enough for a person to get on and look around. Pointing, she motioned at Ruby. “Ruby get on those rocks and give us some eyes, I want to know how many are patrolling the perimeter, if there are any side entrances, possible exits. If things go south, we need an exit strategy.” Ruby nodded, and activating her semblance, she sped up the wall faster than a blink. Looking back down, Weiss steeled herself. “Alright, as soon as Ruby reports in, we can decide on a course of action. Unfortunately, I don’t think we’re going to have any choice but go through the front,” she said with an unhappy expression. Her earpiece clicked and Ruby’s voice flowed through.’

            “This is little worm to mama bird! Come in mama bird!” Weiss rolled her eyes. “There are guards down there, and from what I can tell they look like a mixture of rebels, I see some White Fang mixed in there as well. There’s eight, three by the entrance in patrolling in a sweeping pattern, three on my side in close formation, looks like they might be on their break, if their laughter tells me anything. There are also two at the base of the debris just below you guys. If you wait until they turn around, you should be able to sneak up to them and take them out. You could probably take out the three at the front as well if you’re quick, I’ll need your help for these four though, I don’t think I can take them all out before one of them decides to shoot. I’d hate to lose the element of surprise,” she spoke in quick detail. Nodding, Weiss decided that would probably be the best approach.

            “Okay, Blake you’re with me. Yang, trail behind us, slowly make your way to where the group of four is. You can’t use your gauntlet’s shells, we can’t afford to make any loud noises this close to the temple. Copy?” Yang sighed unhappily as she nodded her head. “Okay, let’s do it.” As silently as she could she jumped down to the ground below. Landing with a light step, she quickly moved over to cover behind one of the large boulders. Peering over, she saw the two guards Ruby had indicated. They were stoking a small pot above a fire, the smell of stew began to waft over. One of them was pacing around, while the other did the cooking. Turning, she looked at Blake, who had pulled out her Gambol Shroud. “Blake I need you to get the one kneeling that’s cooking, I can jump straight up and take out the one who’s pacing, lets time it right.” Blake gave a small nod. Bracing herself, Weiss primed her Myrtenaster for Ice Dust. She counted down to three on her fingers. With a deep breath, she leapt, aided by her semblance glyphs. Over the debris she arced, Rapier aimed straight at the patrolling guard. At the same time her blade connected with a silent oomph, she saw Blake’s chain blade bury itself into the back of the other guard. Down they went, with nary a sound.  Exhaling, she looked at Blake, and motioned onward. “Alright, two down. Let’s get the others.” One after another, they silently took the rebels and White Fang out. Yang and Ruby jogged over to them, slightly out of breath.

            “Got them, not sure if there’s any in the temple though, there are no windows that I can peek through, no side entrances either,” she shook her head as Weiss began to ask.

            “Great, that means we have to go through the front door. Good thing is, they’re not expecting us. Bad news is, we have no idea what’s in there. Ready your weapons guys.” Ruby extended her Scythe and checked her rifles magazine, Blake reloaded her clip, Yang loaded her shells and activated her APC and Weiss re-primed her saber for lightning type dust. “Alright let’s do it.” They all moved forward, into the entrance of the temple, the darkness swallowing them whole.

 

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

            The inside of the temple was unlike anything they had ever seen. For a place that was supposed to be thousands of years old, it looked lined with more advanced tech than anything they had on the surface. Cables lined the walls, giving the room a glowing blue atmosphere, providing flowing energy to all manner of screens and machines that dotted the inside of the area. Lights blinked on and off, and at the center of the massive room, stood a single, ovular table, it looked like a hologram projector.

            “I don’t understand, where are the rest of the rebels?” Ruby quietly asked. That was a good question, at first glance, the massive room seemed to be empty but the four of them, and the whirring sound of the machines that inhabited it.

            “I don’t know, but be on your guard. Let’s see what this table is, maybe it can give us some clue as to what they’re doing here.” They made their way over to the holo table. It was larger than the one aboard the Sentinel flagship that was for sure, and it was her hope that the table was still operational. Anything they could pull from it might be valuable. “Let’s see here, I can’t read any of this, but, generally the power switch is riiiight here,” she flipped a switch, and the table began to light up its display. She had hit the right one after all. What she had not expected, was the hologram of a young woman to display when the table activated. Shocked, but before she could do or say anything, the hologram spoke.

            “Welcome, to the Elemental Conflux. It has been many years since anyone has been able to activate me. I am Helaena, AI and caretaker of the Conflux, once High Archon to the people of Mantle. Why are you here?” They all looked at her speechless. They had no idea what was going on. Why was an AI down here of all places? What did she mean, eternal conflux?

            “Um, you said we were in something called the Conflux? What did you mean exactly?” Ruby asked tentatively. The AI looked at her, suspicion crossing her face.

            “You do not know where you are? Then how is it you came to activate me?”

            “We stumbled into this place, we actually had no idea what we’d find here, especially not an AI this far underground.” Weiss explained.

“Underground?” Helaena seemed baffled. “One moment.” Her eyes glossed over. Surprised suffused her face. “It seems it has been longer than I initially assumed. I did not expect the Conflux to be situated underground, beneath the old city. That means then, this place may be forgotten to most. I will explain, as you seem to not understand. This is the Elemental Conflux, the center of the old world of the tribes of mantle, where the elements of the beginning of the world had joined, and once the sealing location for the World Stone.”

“World Stone? I’m not familiar with that artifact,” Blake said.

“Aren’t you?” Helaena asked. Her eyes glossed over again, before returning to the present. “Ah, you seem to know of it instead as the Story of the Seasons.” Recognition dawned in their eyes. "*An old wizard, who lives alone in the mountains, is visited by four sisters, who each in their own unique ways are kind to him. The first, Winter, encourages him to meditate and reflect; the second, Spring, brings him fruit and flowers and revitalizes his garden; the third, Summer, convinces him to step outside and embrace the world; and the fourth, Fall, urges him to be thankful for what he has."

"Moved by their kindness, the old man gives the four sisters great powers so that they may go throughout Remnant continuing to share their gifts. What your story does not say however, is that the Wizard in your legend, was the original High Archon and the mountains he resided in were above the site for the capital of the tribes of mantle, what you now call Atlas. It was he who chose to guard the World Stone on his own. He had exiled himself to the Conflux for years, not many willing choose to guard a location where their life becomes tied to. Back then, there was also not many left of the tribe, disease had gripped the city and he had become very lonely over the years. Moved by kindness from young ladies much like his granddaughters, he made a decision that he felt would better the world. He chose to give his life force to split the power of the World Stone in four, one to each of the women who had let him experience happiness again. One cannot just hand power to those he wishes for free, however. The power of the World Stone is eternal, and the Archon’s decision set in motion a cycle: every lifetime there would be four maidens, four to each inherit the powers of her predecessor, Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall. Some call it a gift, some a curse. The fact remains, four people are tied through the ages, in a continuous cycle of death and rebirth. After the split, the Stone was no more, its very essence infused into the cycle.”

“You said this was the sealing place of the World Stone? Then is that what the Rebels were looking for? Something to do with the stone?”

“I cannot say, you are the first to activate me since my creators placed me in standby. My guess would be whoever your enemies are, they may be looking for the four maidens and their power. The only people who can activate my terminal are those with the blood of the original tribe. So they must have been unable to obtain any information from my databanks. The flow of raw elemental power is an art lost to the old Archons, that may also be the key they’re looking for.” She turned her piercing gaze toward Weiss. Before Weiss could say anything, the tapping of boots resounded behind them.

“Indeed, I’m glad to see my patience paid off. I figured there was a key to turning you on, AI. I didn’t expect you pets to be the one to activate it,” drawled the figure. Flaming eyes peered beneath swept black hair, fiery aura pulsating.

“Cinder,” Ruby muttered horrified. Behind their old enemy were at least a dozen huge White Fang soldiers, clad in plated armor. “This isn’t good Weiss.” Helaena looked at them with narrowed eyes.

“I have no desire to interface with you, demon. Leave the Conflux, you are not welcome here.”

“Well isn’t that a shame, too bad you won’t really have a choice.” At her sudden hostile tone, Ruby and the rest readied their weapons. Cinder gave a feral grin and waved the armor clad soldiers behind her forward.

“You have no time to linger here, Silver Eyes,” Helaena said to Ruby. “You need to get to your Queen, she is not safe. The glowing eyed demon will not have what she wants from me, but I cannot say the same for the Dragon Queen. Get to her, and have her explain herself to you. She’ll understand. You are the best chance for her survival.” She stared solely at Ruby as she said this. “Go.” She waved her hand, and an entrance at the rear of the room opened. The girls hesitated, they couldn’t let Cinder walk away without a fight, she had too much to answer for, but there was a bigger picture here than just bringing her to justice. They had their duty to the Queen first and foremost.

“We’ll find you again, Cinder, and we’ll ground you into the floor when we do.” Yang spit. Turning, they all ran for the exit.

Chuckling, Cinder watched them as they fled for the rear. “Follow them, and kill them.” She told the White Fang. As they moved in pursuit, pulling out strange but large blades from their backs, Cinder turned to Helaena. “Now, let’s see what we can do with you, shall we” the AI narrowed her eyes in defiance, as the sound of thundering footsteps echoed in the distance.


	10. The Flames of Desperation

Chapter 10: The Flames of Desperation

     The sound of pounding footsteps echoed around the cavern as Ruby and her team raced through the passage given to them by Helaena. Ragged breaths prevented them from speaking, as the thundering sound of the White Fang’s heavy boots dogged them from behind. Yang, using her gauntlets explosive ammunition to propel herself back to the entrance of the cavern, Ruby using her blinding speed to get ahead and fire a few rounds to their rear, Blake swung her way forward with her chain scythe, all the while the White Fang commando’s fired back, seemingly untired.  _Shit,_ Weiss thought, _these guys are more persistent than the rank and file. I have a bad feeling about this._ As she completed the thought, the wall exploded just above her head as a bullet narrowly missed her. Growling, she activated her semblance, and used a glyph to propel herself high into the air. Turning, she signed with her saber the formations of the ice glyphs, creating a hail of ice lances. Drawing her arm backward, she launched them at the pursuing commandos. Five of them dodged nimbly, the sixth and first pursuer in line, did not manage the feat. A grunt of pain was all that he managed to say as the lance impaled him through the chest, pinning him to the ground. The small feeling of satisfaction of downing an enemy was almost overcome by the fact the commandos hadn’t even flinched at her attack. Biting back frustration, she immediately cast another glyph to launch her in pursuit of her comrades.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 _Where is the blasted exit_ raced through Ruby’s mind. A tendril of fear lanced into her heart as she glanced back and saw Weiss trying to slow them down. The exit Helaena had ushered them toward was a massive yet linear corridor, seemingly burrowed into the earth since the path itself was not paved, but more like a cave, enough rock got in the way that it helpfully provided some cover from the rifle fire. Speeding up, Ruby spotted light from what seemed to be the exit. Relief suffused her as she exited the tunnel. The corridor led to a massive cavern, where the sewer water pooled at the center from several channels. Ruby quickly pulled out her tablet, she had set it to track their path, and using a sort of sonar, try to map the caverns as they went. It seemed much more useful than having to whip out a paper map at every opportunity. Eyes dancing across the screen as figures and indicators popped up she realized three things: there were three exits to the cavern, they were going to have to make a stand, and they were going to be outnumbered by far more than the five commandos. Streaming out of the nearer two exits, were the rank and file White Fang reinforcements. The third, and judging by her map, their intended destination, was shut closed by an iron door. Desperation rising, Ruby tried her radio. “Lieutenant? Can you hear me? We’re being boxed in by the White Fang, need reinforcements!” Static distorted any reply she was getting.

     “Wh-------- can you-------- Nikos------- way!” came the cut reply. “We’re not getting signal down here”. Turning, she unsheathed her scythe in sniper rifle form, extending the blade to create a rest point for the rifle, she began firing at the White Fang reinforcements. Shot after shot connected, blowing off arms and instantly downing anyone hit. She managed to count sixteen successful hits before a lull in their attack gave her a chance to breath. Glancing back, she saw the rest of the team entering the basin. Four of the six heavily armored commandos still remained in pursuit. Grimacing, she yelled her findings to Yang.

     “Yang! Doors at Four and Seven o’clock have White Fang reinforcements! Twelve seems to be our exit but that door looks sealed tight, do you have the explosive charges? We have to collapse those doors!” Firing twin rounds that blasted the front formation of the reinforcements, Yang nodded.

     “I’ll take care of Seven, Ruby get Four! Blake, Weiss get your asses to Twelve and start setting up those charges! We’ll cover you as soon as we can!” Yang yelled at the rest of the team over the sound of shattering gunfire and elemental explosions. Nodding, Weiss primed her saber for Ice Element dust, and activated her semblance. Signing nine glyphs of Ice, she dove at the entrance to the cavern where the commandos were about to enter. As her rapier pierced the ground, a wall of ice seemed to explode from the tip, sealing the only entrance to the whole corridor with a massive ice wall that seemed to be several feet thick.

     “Let’s go Blake, now, that wall won’t slow them down for long. Let’s set those charges.” Weiss said to Blake, motioning forward.

     “Right behind you.”

     They headed full speed towards the other side of the circular basin, the sound of cracking ice fading behind them. Ruby was a blur of movement as she unfurled her scythe to its full length and launched herself at the White Fang, slicing limb from body. Cries of pain could be heard further from her position as Yang roared. Rounds from her gauntlets devastated the White Fang, and as she punched the nearest one with incredible force into the wall, she threw the detonite charge at the top of the entrance. Propelling herself backwards, she watched as they turned in confusion, before the proceeding explosion not only collapsed the door, but finished of the remains of the reinforcements that had streamed in. Turning, she saw a similar explosion collapse Ruby’s door. Sighing in relief, she turned towards the wall of ice Weiss had created to slow the commandos. Massive cracks had begun to appear in the center, eyes narrowed, Yang turned to Ruby as she approached, “Let’s go, Weiss and Blake should’ve finished putting up the charges, this wall won’t last longer.”

            “Right, let’s go!”

     With all the haste of an army on their ass, Yang and Ruby made it to the other side just as Blake finished setting the charges, Weiss was not too far away finishing off some of the remaining grunts, her swordsmanship a dance, never letting them get past her guard.

     “Ruby you’re sure this is supposed to lead us out of here?” Blake turned and asked, face pinched with worry, all the while correcting the timers on the detonators, they had been slightly damaged in the fighting, correcting for them manually took a little more time than they had.

     “The map my scanner was making shows this is probably the only way to go up without blasting through several tunnels, so we’re stuck with this one whether we like it or not” Ruby breathed. As she opened her mouth to speak again, an explosion rocked the wall on the other side of the cavern. The commandos had succeeded in smashing through the wall, and from the wall where Ruby had collapsed the entrance, though it seemed impossible considering how many White Fang they had killed pushing through the room, more of them began streaming through hole where the collapsed section had been. The commando’s reached behind them and unsheathed their pulsing blue blades, energy hummed along their edges. The first few at the front burst into a sprint and, arms pulled back, they swung their blades at Yang.

     “Shit,” she growled. Even as they moved, her hands went to her belt, activating her APG and generating her particle barrier. It still felt like being struck by a truck, the swords hammered her barrier, her teeth jarring from the impact. Using her suits’ HUD, she saw the barrier strength drop to 50%. With a shocked gasp, she retaliated immediately, activating a heat round and landing a right hook right into the face of the first commando who swung. The explosion blew him apart, blasting him across the room into the cistern below. Yang propelled herself backwards, putting some distance between her and the next commando.

     “Watch those swords! They do an unnatural amount of damage!” she yelled at her team mates, who were trying to stem the tide of reinforcements.

     “No! Get behind me, they’re circling around! Damnit, how did they manage to get reinforcements? I thought you collapsed the other entrances?!” Weiss yelled.

     “I did! I don’t know where they came from! We have bigger problems, we need to get a hold of one of those weapons and get it back to Morrigan! How do they just shred through my barrier?!” several shots followed in succession, the sound booming against the walls

     “I don’t know, those blades don’t look like anything crafted in Atlas. For the love of-, there’s more of them.” Weiss primed her blade for ice dust, and activating her glyphs, impaled five of the White Fang trying to rush her. “How are those explosive charges coming?!”

     “Just a few more seconds, hold them off for just a few more seconds!” cried Blake.

     “I said we wouldn’t die here, and hell if I’m gonna let these guys make me a liar. Let’s go!” Booming explosions rocked the cistern, flames brightening the cavern like sunlight. Ruby, Weiss and Yang tried desperately to buy the time Blake needed to prime the detonators, and while they cut through the common grunt like butter, the commandos were steadily pushing them back, their glowing cyan blades cutting into the air where they previously stood. Taking care not to let their weapons touch made it all the harder, as they could not parry and their defensive posture was effectively halved and reduced to dodging.

            “It’s set! It’s going to detonate in seven seconds!” Blake yelled.

     “That’s so damned slow!” yelled Yang, dodging the blades swinging at her while using her gauntlets to fire back. The wall shattered in the trademark implosion that breach charges create, dust and debris raining down like hell.

      “Our exit is up, let’s go!”

     Trying to buy time for Weiss and Ruby to fall back, Yang decided to cover the retreat. Straining, she furiously fired round after round into the advancing White Fang, but the commandos were always clever enough to swing towards her gauntlets every time she tried, forcing her to move her arms to prevent contact. Frustrated, Yang growled, and in her fury, she lost her focus on the battlefield. One of the commandos managed to flank her, and swung his blade downward in a heavy strike. Arm’s raised up instinctively to protect her, Yang staggered backward, eyes wide in shock as the barrier her APG provided shattered. Exploiting her moment of weakness, the commando angled his blade forward, preparing to thrust.

     “Yang! Move!!” came a terrified scream. Time seemed to move slowly, as though incoming death had decided to let her understand how she was going to depart. The commandos red eyes narrowed, his powerful arms carrying the blade forward to impale her on the end of his blade. Oddly, the blue was shimmering, as though whatever aura it was creating couldn’t sustain itself. She didn’t count on the ripple of crimson, which came to contrast with the flickering cyan, as a billowing red cape swayed in front of her. “Aura concentrate at cen-“ was the last thing she heard before the blade bypassed Ruby’s scythe, held in a blocking posture, and ran through her.

     “Gah!” she cried in pain, the burning sensation tearing through her. Blood began to drip from the corner of her mouth, and she slumped to the ground.

     “Ruby NO!” Weiss cried hoarsely, propelling herself toward her, as Yang roared in agony and fury. With barely a blink, she landed a shot to the commandos head, and before the body even finished falling, two more of the commandos exploded in a crimson rain. Mindless rage propelled her forward to engage the rest.

     “Shit, shit! I don’t have enough aura to help stem the bleeding!” Weiss cried frantically, placing her hands on the wound to apply pressure.

     “Weiss I have just enough to slow it, let me do it!” Blake said, desperation coloring her voice. Her aura glowed black as she forced her aura to resonate with Ruby’s and try to accelerate the healing process. The blood began leaking through Weiss’ fingers, as Ruby’s life force began to drain. Ruby’s eyes blinked in pain, mouth unable to make more than a sound. “No, no, Ruby stay with me here! Please!” she begged, tears streaming down her face. _Please, anyone, let me save her, I can’t let her die here._ She felt a tug just then, an attractive force pulling at her mind. Confusion coloring her frantic mind, she searched for the source of the tug. Her eyes latched onto her blade, lying on the ground near her, the hum of power thrumming through the blades pommel. She didn’t know what it was, and she didn’t care, if it gave her the energy she needed to stop Ruby from dying she’d make a deal with evil itself. Closing her eyes, she focused on the bed of energy. Drawing on it was simple, as it was her own, she found. She attuned her aura to Ruby’s, pouring what she could into her efforts to close the wound. It wasn’t as much as she’d hoped, but enough that she managed to close the exit wound, and repair most of the entrance. The commando blade had done a lot of damage internally, if it had been powered correctly upon entry, there would have been nothing able to be done.

     Armored boots clicked on the ground as someone game to stand in front of her. Gasping, Weiss snapped out of her concentration. Looking up, she saw a golden shield strapped to the figure, a rifle at her hands, firing round after round into the White Fang. She couldn’t hear what she was saying, it was as though sound had decided to slow, not wanting her to listen. The ringing in her ears persisted, shaking her head, Weiss managed to shake it off enough that she understood what was going on: Pyrrha’s team had arrived.

     “Weiss! How is she?” cried Pyrrha, who was covering Yang with her rifle on the far side. Nora and Ren had just joined the fray, and the trio began to push the enemy back inch by inch, body by body. Nora’s hammer tore holes in their squads, with Jaune engaging their front and Ren harassing their flanks not allowing them to regroup or get their bearings, the remaining White Fang were easily decimated. Hurriedly looking back down, she saw that the worst of Ruby’s injury had managed to heal, but they could not replace the pool of blood that she had lost. Ruby was very weak and unconscious, but by the grace of some threat of fate, she was alive.

     “She’s alive, she needs proper medical attention” she said quietly, as the tears continued to flow. Nodding, Pyrrha returned to giving her team covering fire, picking off grunt after grunt, not a bullet wasted. Exhausted, Weiss touched her head to Ruby’s, arms going around her. “I’ll get you out of here, just hold on” she whispered into her ear.

     “We’re so sorry it took us so long to get here Weiss, the Guards weren’t receiving your map data and we had to eliminate the possible routes to you one by one. We’ll finish these guys off, you just watch over her.”

     She nodded, keeping her protective embrace over her little red rose, and watched as even the mighty commandos, that at the initial strength of several squads had managed to be a match for four huntresses, fall under the onslaught of a berserk Yang and a fresh team of hunters. The fires of battle began to dim, and as the fires licking the debris and bodies began to quiet, Weiss stared at the dancing embers, entranced. Their job always reminded her how easy it is to lose those you love. She hated it. But she hadn't lost her, and that was enough to make the struggle all worth while.

**Author's Note:**

> * Several military and weapon terms were taken from references in the show as well as the Wiki for an attempt at accuracy, for example the weapons Yang bears, the "Ember Celica" I believe I acquired the name from the RWBY wiki.  
> * The essential core of the narrative is taken from portions of Rooster Teeth's masterpiece, RWBY, and many references were taken and incorporated from the excellent RWBY wikia, props to the admins and enthusiasts who post.  
> *For specification, the general ages of the main characters is really late teens to early twenties.  
> *I had initially been unaware as to the sheer amount of uploads titled Remnant , as such I have changed the title, it will remain open to change until I solidify a decision on its interpretation.  
> *the queens surname, Draken, (pronounced Drah Ken) is a slight corruption of the German word for dragon.  
> *the Story of the Seasons is taken right from the wiki, it felt a disservice to edit a story that was introduced in the show when it serves its purpose so well  
> *I apologize for any inconsistencies in the story or dialogue, i have noticed especially with numbers or minor details that it becomes more difficult to keep them accurate, especially if they are alluded to earlier in the story, since i periodically make changes as i go. Sorry :c


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